You'll Surrender Eventually
by AmenToTheMangaBible11
Summary: When Naruto's family is in debt, they are brought into the Uchiha home because of an old friendship between Fugaku and Minato. Sasuke and Itachi are dreading living with the girl that was ugly when they met her 8 years ago, but are shocked when they discover their new housemate is a blonde bombshell who uses her sexuality to try and make Sasuke, her crush, love her. SasuNaru.
1. But She's Ugly

Just to clarify, this will be a SasuNaru fic, but the pairing will be a female Naruto and a male Sasuke. Sorry for anyone that disagrees with that, but it's just the way it is folks! I was contemplating making Sasuke the girl in the story, but in all reality, it works better the other way around, and just as a joke, I already think he's got enough going on in the feminine looks department. (Just a joke, please do not kill me oh great Sasuke fan-girls!) Plus, I think Naruto would make a really great girl if you went by a few certain things: his ability to annoy Sasuke (much like all girls do), his preexisting 'relationship' with Sasuke, his bubbly personality, and his desire to get Sasuke to notice him. All factors for the perfect fan-girl.

So, I'm thinking that once I've got the story going where I want it, I'd be happy to take some ideas from readers for filler-chapter topics. I'll be sure to go into later detail on this idea, so stay tuned with the authors' notes. Remember, they aren't always pointless!

Okay, so this story idea has been plaguing my mind for a few days now, so I just decided to write it out and post it to see how it does. I have two really serious stories running rampant through my brain, so I went ahead and made this my kind of 'break story' to fill the time between my more serious works. This is just meant to be a fun fic, so don't expect an overly complex plot. Just some fluff, lemony stuff on occasion when it works into the story nicely, and a good time. Heck, feel free to use this fic as a time killer while you're waiting to read chapter updates of **Dignity of a Criminal** and **Chosen Insanity**. Whatever floats your gravy boat, fans of mine!

Read the notes at the end for a few descriptions of things featured in this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I doooooo NOT...*swallow*... ownnn... Na-*cough*-ru-*grunt of pain*-to... There, that wasn't so hard.

"What do you mean 'financial problems'? You're joking right? That's terrible man. Well, I'm... Listen Minato, I'm real sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?" Fugaku pressed his cell phone to his cheek with his shoulder, his head tilted at a strange angle so that he could hear the young man speaking on the other end of the line. "Was... Was it peaceful? She wasn't... In too much pain in the end was she?"

_"No, no it wasn't a..." _There was a distinct swallow and the sound of a stifled sob on the phone, and Fugaku felt his stone heart start just a bit at hearing his childhood friend, one who was always smiling, always trying to make others happy, and always thinking of his treasured wife, choking back what sounded like a lot of tears at her death. 'He really loved Kushina.'

_"She passed during the night at the hospital. There wasn't much the doctors could really do for her, but they did all they could to make her comfortable." _Fugaku nodded his head at his friend's words despite the fact he knew his friend couldn't see it.

"How's your daughter handling it?" Fugaku asked, reflecting back on the time when Mikoto had packed her bags and left, leaving him with a 12 year old that looked like he wanted to kill everyone around him while staring at his mother's back, and an 11 year old asking when mommy was coming back. Fugaku hadn't had an answer.

_"She's doing much better than I am, that's for sure. She's just been locked in her room for so long, but now that her cell phone is cut and we can't afford to pay for the television or internet anymore, she's been reading a lot. I think that Naruto's just trying her hardest to get rid of anything that would hurt her. You know she's always been a pretty sensitive girl."_

"Yeah, I remember. She was always a bit short and pudgy, but had the most adorable smile I've ever seen on a little kid. Reminds me of you when we were younger, except it actually works on her." Fugaku set his phone down on the counter top while he pushed his sleeves up, then put the machine on speaker to continue the conversation. He busied himself around the kitchen, fixing a few small things for dinner while his hired-help cleaned up the outside veranda for supper. It was the least the man could do since those older workers did so much for his family.

_"Well ha ha ha, look who's finally got a sense of humor. Didn't know you had it in you to actually make a joke, Uchiha." _Fugaku could feel the ear to ear grin that he guaranteed was on Minato's face. Fugaku's lips cracked into the tiniest grin when he heard his friend's laughter.

"Well, if you're having trouble now that you have to pay the hospital back, and you'll have all of the funeral preparations, and not to mention you're down one full income source, I always have room for you to come stay for a while." Fugaku put the knife he'd been using to cut some vegetables down in the polished chrome sink and waited for the sure-fire explosion that was sure to come from the vivacious blonde. However, he didn't expect the loud crack of a can of soda being popped open and the horrified look on his youngest son's face peeking out from behind the pantry door.

Sasuke walked out of the pantry with his grape flavored drink and shuffled up to his father quietly, his look of shock and horror quickly transforming to a scowl. Sasuke shook his head violently mouthing the word 'No' repeatedly. Both dark-haired men glared openly at each other, Sasuke looking down a few inches to stare into his father's eyes. Their was some loud shuffling on the other end of the phone before the sound of someone crying filled the silence of the Uchiha kitchen. Sasuke and Fugaku turned toward the phone, their faces a matching pair of sympathy when they realized that Minato had started bawling.

_"You'd really do that for my father and me?" _The voice was delightfully high pitched, definitely feminine, and held a torrent of emotion behind the simple wording of her question.

"No! Don't you dare! The last time Minato brought his daughter over here, she was hideous and obnoxious. There is no way you can bring her back her to live with us." Sasuke whispered quietly, his hushed voice hoarse as he strained to keep his tirade quiet. Fugaku reached out, picked up his cellular device, and held the speaker up to his lips.

"As soon as you can pack, I'll send my sons to help you load up a moving truck. Don't you worry Naru honey, I'll take good care of you and Minato. I swear on my honor as an Uchiha."

Fugaku hung up the phone as soon as he heard the watery reply of "I owe you Fugaku," from Minato and an equally teary "Thanks Mr. Uchiha," from Naruto.

There was a buzz on the cell phone as the Fugaku received a text. He messed around on the high tech smartphone, closing a few emails before he moved on to the new message, perfectly aware that Sasuke was still glaring at him from where he was leaning on the refrigerator.

_~Come by tomorrow at 3pm with the truck. We don't have much we need to pack.~ Love, Naru._

Itachi walked into the kitchen at the delicious smell of the stir fry that his father was stirring on the stove. He turned to Sasuke and ribbed him with his elbow gently, but just received a glare from the younger boy for his efforts in trying to figure out the cause of the tension in the room.

Fugaku turned to face his two sons, then allowed an almost non-existent, yet visible enough to make both young men flinch in fear, smirk flicker across his lips. "Guess what you boys are doing tomorrow." Sasuke and Itachi turned to each other with worried expressions. Itachi wrapped his arm around the shorter teen's shoulder and patted his head, smiling when his hand was smacked away playfully. Fugaku laughed quietly, then turned back to the dinner preparations, missing the cringe on Sasuke's face at the sound.

"So," Itachi ventured, "what exactly are we doing tomorrow?" Sasuke sighed.

"Inviting a blonde, ugly, bimbo and her father into our house because our father is being charitable for the first time in his life for the sake of an old friend."

"Oh." Itachi looked a little apprehensive. "So the blonde bimbo is ugly? Darn." He just received a rare laugh from his brother and a disapproving scowl from his father. Itachi just rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "What?"

* * *

"So, brother dearest... On what planet is this girl considered ugly, because I think I'd happily sell my soul to be the only man on it for a day." The words were whispered into the younger raven-haired teen's ear, who just grunted quietly in response.

Itachi's eyes followed the young blonde around the room as she busied herself cramming random items that had been left in the otherwise barren room into a cardboard box. Sasuke mimicked his elder brother's actions, his line of sight staying firmly on the sun-kissed skin that would occasionally be revealed each time the orange ruffles on the leggy blonde's miniskirt rose when she bent to pick up something sitting on the floor. When she walked behind the arm of the couch and bent over to pick up a book that was on the hard-wood floor, she missed the two young men behind her subconsciously leaning forward to get a better view.

Naruto walked quickly from the room and out the front door, humming an upbeat J-Pop tune to herself as she loaded the last box into the back of Itachi's sleek muscle car. She leaned back against the hood of the vehicle and fanned herself a bit, kicking her combat boot-clad feet up onto a bag of garbage she'd had a mover dump on the drive way a few minutes ago.

Sasuke swallowed dryly. "I've seen better." He turned away from the show with a will power none of the other men watching her seemed to have. He even noticed when Itachi loosened the tie around his neck just a bit while his eyes were glued to the innocent looking girl. Sasuke snapped his fingers in front of his brothers' face to grab his attention, then leaned back with a smug look when Itachi blushed ever so lightly at having been caught ogling the 17 year old girl.

"Would you guys go ahead and drag the couch out to the front porch? The movers will load it onto the truck in a bit. I want to see my boys!" Naruto's voice drifted into the tiny, two bed, one bath, apartment through the open front door. Itachi and Sasuke carried the couch to the front door, Itachi managing to run Sasuke's back into at least two walls, both times he blamed his 'poor vision', before they had finally gotten the couch placed where Naruto had wanted.

One minute, Sasuke was standing on the wooden porch beside Itachi, then the next he was tackled to the ground on his back with a very curvaceous blonde straddling his waist. Naruto hugged him so tightly that it was a good two minutes before he'd successfully caught his breath afterwards. Naruto put her elbows on his chest and cupped her face with her hands. She dragged a single finger down his chest and shifted a bit on her knees, pressing her weight down on his groin. Sasuke bit his lip when he noticed the innocent smile that lit up her face and the shine in her eyes while she looked down at him. He was in Hell.

Itachi was watching his younger brother like a hawk, jealousy tearing him apart until Sasuke shot him a very pained looked, the sight of which brought a smile to his face. He just crossed his arms, leaned back against the door frame, and watched happily as his brother tried very hard to keep his composure while dealing with his growing predicament.

"It's been so long Sasu! Like what, 8 years? You do remember me right?" Naruto bit her lip and looked down at Sasuke who was slowly sitting up from his position of laying on his back on the hard ground. He looked away quickly when he saw her big, questioning eyes.

"Don't call me that. And, yes. I remember you Naruto." Sasuke kept his voice level, without even a single waver, which had Itachi giving the 17 year old boy respect he'd never tell him about and a mental pat on the back, that is until Naruto started squirming about in every which direction, her arms in the air, her entire being radiating happiness at his curt comment. Itachi didn't miss his brother's eyes rolling back into his head or the incredibly slight buck of his hips. Itachi decided to help the poor kid out.

"Do you remember me, Naruto?" Itachi's voice was velvet; smooth as silk. The young blonde rose to her feet and smiled brightly at him, holding out her hand to the slightly older gentleman who took it by the fingertips and kissed it. Both he and Sasuke were surprised at her suddenly graceful approach, an unseen mischievous gleam in her eye.

"How could I forget 'Tachi?" She leeched herself to him in a tight hug. "Can I have a kiss?" She turned her head to the side, offering him her cheek, to which he shrugged and leaned in to kiss the old family friend. Naruto cupped his cheek in her hand and turned her head suddenly, bringing the surprised Itachi's lips down to meet her own. She suckled on his bottom lip, her teeth nibbling gently, and ran her tongue along the seam of his lips. Itachi groaned quietly, mimicking her actions until his eyes shot open when his mind finally caught on to what he was doing. He pulled away from her, and broke the trail of saliva that connected them as quickly as possible, dragging the back of his hand over his lips to wipe away the spit. She winked at him before walking into the house to find her father.

"I like her." Itachi smiled as he helped Sasuke to his feet, and watched as he dusted his back off.

"She seems slutty to me. And irritating." Sasuke stared into the foyer petulantly, angry at the fact that Itachi hadn't helped him get her off of him sooner.

"Don't worry, she isn't always like this." Itachi and Sasuke jumped when they heard Minato's voice come from behind them, however, they relaxed when they saw the upset expression on his face. "She's always been kind of ditzy and out of it, but she's still very bright." He sounded like the epitome of a proud father. "She went through so much when she was younger, and, well for reasons I'm sure you both know." The image of the overweight, stumpy, young girl with the boy haircut and hand me down overalls came to mind. Sasuke and Itachi nodded. "She's just trying to get you to underestimate her, get a false reading of her character if you will. That's one of her skills. She makes people think less of her, then just blows them away when she actually puts her heart and mind to it. The way she is now, it's kind of a game to test those around her." He looked each young man in the eye before continuing. "Give her a chance lads. Let her get used to you, and she'll come out a bit. Alright?"

Both boys nodded quickly, a small, Uchiha brand smile on each of their faces. "However." Minato's tone was frightening; quiet and calm, yet dealing out the rage of a starved tiger being teased with its dinner. "If I ever catch either of you in either one of the positions I just saw you in with my baby girl while we're living with you, Fugaku will be the first to know." His smiled was kind, and that's what frightened Itachi and Sasuke more than the threat of being turned over to their father, who was the chief of police in the town of Konoha.

"Yes, sir!" Both boys snapped to attention and saluted, finally relaxing once Minato had patted them on the shoulders while on his way inside the house, mumbling a few words of praise to the absent Fugaku for training his kids well. Sasuke sighed in exasperation.

"So, she's not ugly, but she plays her sexuality as a game to mess with guys' heads?"

"Well, at least she's not ugly." Sasuke elbowed his brother in the ribs.

"Sasu-kins! 'Tachi!" Both boys shivered when a finger was dragged slowly down their spines.

Sasuke turned to his brother, ignoring the feminine giggle coming from behind him. "I kind of wish she still was."

"I don't."

. . . . .

End Chapter 1!

* * *

1. Okay, so for all of you people who may already dislike Naruto in this story, I guarantee that she does not stay this way. If you found her irritating or slutty of anything of the such, please don't judge me for writing her that way, because she is SUPPOSED to be that way for the time being. Go back to Minato's long explanation if you honestly don't know what I'm talking about. He's way better with words than I am.

2. Alright, so, for my readers of my other works, this one's a bit different. There won't be much violence, or secret plot twists, or tons of drama or anything... I know right... Freaky. The point of this story is to just be light, fun, and lemony for the summer!

3. So, the main pairing is SasuNaru, but there will be a few other, minor pairings in here, and even hints at ItaNaru for fun.

4. Just because I can.

5. So, Sasuke and Naruto are 17, and Itachi is 18 (almost 19 technically.) Fugaku and Minato are old friends from childhood and are very close, and keep in touch, but rarely see each other because of work. Kushina, Naruto's mother, died recently in the story due to a brain tumor, and Mikoto, Sasuke's mom divorced Fugaku several years ago due to him being an alcoholic. It was at that time that Naruto and Sasuke met, because Fugaku went to Minato, who helped him turn his life away from alcohol, which is the reason that Fugaku wasn't hesitant in the least to repay the favor when Minato went into major debt.

6. Sasuke and Itachi first met Naruto when she was at that extremely awkward phase in her life and therefore had an incorrect preconceived thought of what she'd look like, even though they hadn't seen her in 8 years. She turned out to actually be the exact opposite of what she'd been as a child, although she is still rather short. She has long hair that is usually worn down or in a very simple style (ponytail or pigtails). She is almost constantly wearing orange because it's 'the color of summer.' Sasuke and Itachi were wrooooooong about that chick. Just basically imagine the pervy jutsu from the show except, well, she's wearing clothes and... awkward...

7. Sasuke and Itachi have a good relationship? WHAT?! Well, yeah. There was no massacre, and Sasuke often denies his affection toward his brother, but they do actually get along pretty well and often tease each other. I love Itachi! *Sigh*

8. I really hope you all enjoy this good bit of fun! More to come!

**Read** and **Review**, because **AMB11** loves you ;)


	2. I Love Him, But You're Hot Too Itachi

This... was actually a lot more popular than I'd expected. Only two reviews so far, and that makes me kind of sad, but it got over 400 views in less than 2 hours last night. That makes up for the lack of encouragement!

Thanks to my two reviewers for the last chapter! AMB11 loves you!

Okay, so just to remind you all, within the next few chapters, I'll be taking requests for a few certain things. A game if you will. For all you people who review the story, you will be able to tell me one thing you want to see, like in a PM I got last night, someone wanted to read a chapter about Naruto giving Sasuke the finger in public. If you too have a suggestion for something funny that you'd like to see written down as a *bonus chapter* that will be dedicated to you, send it in to me in a review or PM! I will use your idea and put a bit of my own spin on it. I'd love to read your suggestions, but remember, only the first couple of reviewers each chapter will get a chance at this prize. Limited offer! This will most likely begin after chapter 3 or 4, but feel free to send in requests now.

(To my PM sender who wanted to remain secret, your suggestion will be a chapter later in the story, but it will be something a tad bit different and unexpected.)

**Disclaimer: **

Naruto: Why the heck am I a chick in this script?!

Sasuke: Ummm... Because you love me?

Naruto: *smack* Shut up, I do not!

Sasuke: *points to script* Yes you do, it says so right here. Look, right after the part where you grab my-

Naruto: Lalala I don't wanna hear it!

Sasuke: And right after you kiss my-

Naruto: *Blush* I don't love you, you idiot! There's no way you can prove it!

Author: Okay guys, get ready for the big confession scene where Naruto desperately tries to prove her love to Sasuke.

Sasuke: *smirk* You better put on something sexy.

Naruto: At least I'm a girl, but I still don't know why.

Author: Because I told you to be one. Now, do the other thing I told you to do before I make you a girl permanently!

Naruto: *shiver* So evil... AMB11 doesn't own Naruto.

Sasuke: Good girl.

Naruto: Watch yourself Duck Butt.

* * *

Chapter 2: Well, I Love Him, But You're Hot Too Itachi

"So, orange, huh?" Itachi dropped the box he had carried up the stairs to Naruto's new room, then took a step back to look at the wall that had been chosen to be painted an almost neon orange compared to the light gray of the other three.

"It's the color of summer, and it works for me." Naruto had changed from her orange skirt and plain white t-shirt from that afternoon into a pair of orange skinny jeans that, in Itachi's opinion, fit her very well and a black and orange Nike jacket that she had left unzipped to reveal a black tank top that cut off just above her naval.

"Yes, it looks..." Itachi paused to consider his wording, not wanting to offend the girl who'd finally calmed down a bit since that afternoon. She glanced up at him through thick blonde lashes, and he felt his heart skip a beat. "...quite lovely on you." Itachi breathed a silent sigh of relief when she smiled shyly and mumbled a quick 'Thank you' to the older boy before dragging an extremely light looking box over to the bare mattress. She tore the tape from the top and spread the contents out onto her bed; an orange and white comforter, black sheets, and two pillows."So, how do you like it here?"

"Well, I've already managed to get lost twice while carrying stuff to my room. By the way, that's the last box, isn't it? I don't think I can climb those stairs again." Itachi smiled at Naruto's cheeky grin, completely understanding her resentment towards the long flight of steps that led to the bedrooms up on the third floor of the mansion.

"It can be a hassle living in such a big house sometimes, but it's good exercise."

"I can't get over how big this place is. I swear that your kitchen pantry is the size of my old bedroom, if not bigger than it." Naruto tucked the leftover foot or so of sheets at the foot of the bed under the mattress, then threw the comforter on top, smoothed it out, then flopped down onto the gaudy orange sheet with a quiet giggle.

"You're a very energetic person aren't you?" Itachi strode over to the bed and sat down on the edge, waiting for a response from the girl currently warring with the sheets she had wrapped around herself.

"How'd you guess?" Itachi felt laughter build in his chest at the extremely serious expression on her face. 'She doesn't even understand what she's doing half of the time. Minato did say she was a bit ditzy after all. I've never met someone quite like her.'

* * *

Minato's knife moved at the speed of light across the cutting bored. He wiped the blade with a clean towel before turning around and dumping the freshly cut vegetables into the large soup pot.

"You never told me you'd gone into the catering business Minato." Fugaku took another sip of his tea and leaned back in his chair a bit, watching while Minato scurried around the kitchen, opening and closing drawers rapidly. The blonde pulled the oven open and put the tray with some kind of pastry Fugaku didn't recognize inside, quickly shutting the oven with his heel while he resumed working on a salad for a side dish.

"Yeah, but you knew I've always been into cooking. It's too bad I never got to go to culinary school, but I really do enjoy what I'm doing. I get to stay home when I'm not out at an event, and I always get tons of compliments on my food. It's a dream come true for me. Especially since it lets me spend time with Naruto. What about you, how's being the chief of police?"

Fugaku shook his head, waiting for his brain to register the words of his friend, who was speeding along faster than any highway speed limit he'd ever seen. "It's good, but I'm not home nights or weekends, so my boys are pretty much on their own."

"Not on their own, you've got what, 20 different people that work around the house. Can your boys even boil water?"

"I'm not sure about Sasuke, but Itachi is actually taking a semester cooking class at Konoha University, so he can do a few simple dishes on the weekends when there's no one around but him and his brother."

"I forgot that Itachi was doing summer classes. Why isn't he living at the dorms?" Minato turned the stove off with a click and let the soup simmer for a few seconds before tasting it with a spoon he'd pulled from the drawer.

"He figured it'd be a waste of money since we live just about 15 minutes from the campus. I think he just didn't want to downgrade to a smaller room. He's actually studying art right now, so most of the rooms on the fourth floor are full of supplies and projects of his. Sasuke calls it Itachi's studio, and even made a sign for it at the top of the stairs."

"That's pretty funny. Kushina was an art major." Minato spooned a small amount of the tomato basil soup into a tasting dish, which he handed to his friend before leaning back on the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. "Your kitchen is incredible. It's got everything a professional kitchen would, minus the staff. Kushina would've loved it."

"Don't start talking like that or I'll leave." Fugaku blew on the soup before taking a small sip, and smiling.

"You're such a stiff Fugaku." Minato smiled sadly at Fugaku, who was doing his hardest to restrain the urge to lick the tasting dish clean, opting to just hand it back to Minato before he made himself look stupid.

"Hi Daddy. Hi Mr. Uchiha." Naruto hugged her father tightly and smiled at Fugaku before heading to the stove and looking inside. "Oh! You're making donuts for breakfast? You know they're my favorite." Minato smiled at the teenager's antics before handing her the bowl of glaze to stir for the time being.

* * *

"You know, she's not that bad."

"She annoys me."

"All girls annoy you."

"Your point?"

"I talked to her for a while, and she's actually pretty fun. I found out she loves to read, but hates to read anything that's assigned to her."

"And I should care why, exactly?" Sasuke flipped the page of his manga novel and waited for Itachi's comeback.

"You should care, because she's in love with you." Sasuke choked on his spit and stared disbelievingly at his older brother, who was leaning against the wall opposite the chair Sasuke was occupying.

"What are you talking about? Are you crazy?" Sasuke jumped from his seat and ran to the closed bedroom door, threw it open and cupped his hands around his mouth. "ITACHI'S LOST HIS MI-" His words were cut off with a strangled groan when Itachi slapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him back inside his room.

Itachi pinned him down, only to get rolled over and pinned down himself. Both boys started struggling, wrestling to get an advantage over the other. Itachi finally got his knee down on Sasuke's stomach and his hands pinned down the younger boys' wrists. Itachi's shoulder length hair had come free from it's low ponytail and was hanging down around his face.

"I'm not crazy, Sasuke. Naruto told me she loves you. Apparently she's had a crush on you since she met you." Sasuke coughed a bit, his face turning red from learning that the girl that slept in the room next to his was in love with him.

"Umm... Sasuke... Dinner's ready, so if you wouldn't mind coming down to eat..." Naruto's eyes widened when she opened the door to see a disheveled Itachi hovering above a red-faced Sasuke, Itachi holding down Sasuke's wrists, his knee just above Sasuke's crotch, and both of them panting from exhaustion. She froze at the threshold, her hand still on the doorknob. She covered her eyes, an incredibly bright blush racing from her cheeks down her neck. She slowly backed out of the room and shut the door, speaking from the other side. "Dinner... Umm... Dinner's ready, so... Whenever you two are... finished with... THAT... come join us... Wash your hands first."

Sasuke heaved Itachi off of him and scooted away quickly, burying his head in his hands. "Alright."

"Listen, I know you're both good looking and all, but I'm pretty sure a relationship like that with each other could land Itachi in prison."

"We're not-!"

"Good thing I'm not a yaoi fan, huh?" Naruto's voice interrupted Itachi's protest. "Itachi, remember what we talked about earlier." Naruto cracked the door open just enough so that the boys could see her face.

"I love Sasuke, and he'll be mine eventually." Sasuke scoffed at her confession, but the tomato red blush that had overtaken his face ruined the effect. "But, Itachi." Itachi gathered his hair behind his head and tied it back up with his rubber band, bangs falling down to frame his face, before looking up at the blonde staring at him. "I love him, but you're hot too Itachi." She closed the door with a wink and a blown kiss.

"You know, dinner smells pretty good."

"Wash your hands first though, Itachi."

"I hate you."

. . . . . .

End Chapter 2

* * *

1. Alright, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Scene with Itachi and Sasuke, so funny.

2. I don't have much to say this time, except for you all to check out my other stories, and to also start sending in your request for chapter ideas!

3. Ah, Naruto, such a fun character. I plan to have a good time with this, so buckle up and enjoy the ride folks.

4. I'm going to point out a few puns and things that can be related to the characters in the show in here and the last chapter. If you read this after you read the chapter, see how many of them you picked up on!

-Itachi has poor vision but refuses to wear glasses.

-Fugaku is a cop but didn't know what a donut is.

-Sasuke is always calling Itachi crazy.

-Sasuke finds Naruto extremely annoying.

-Naruto barely knows anything about Sasuke but loves him.

5. I may do this again in the future!

Read and Review, because this chapter is just beast like that! Love, AMB11! :)


	3. Wake Up Call

Yay! Just hit 700 views, which excites me! Remember to leave your encouragement in the form of a simple review if you want me to continue writing this story! I'll probably keep writing it anyway, but my readers letting me know you like it makes me want to write it faster!

So the time period so far has been the first day, starting from 3 that afternoon when the Uzumaki household moved into the Uchiha mansion, then moved on to the early evening when Naruto stumbled upon a very _interesting _situation just before dinner. It's now just after the meal, so around 7. I hope this catches you up just a little bit.

Warning, some lemony-ish material ahead, so be warned! But it's not overly descriptive, so if you're okay with it, feel free to read on.

**Disclaimer: **

Naruto: Dang! I look good in a school uniform.

Sasuke: *Rolls eyes* Idiot.

Naruto: *Strikes a suggestive pose* Jealous?

Sasuke: *Pinches nose to hold back blood and keeps his eyes off of Naruto* A-absolutely not!

Naruto: *Grabs Sasuke by the chin and brings him down to eye level* Then why won't you look at me? * Threads fingers through the hair at Sasuke's neck and kisses him once. Runs her hands down his chest and rubs circles with her thumbs on his collarbone, exposed by his open collar shirt*

Sasuke: I-idiot! I am looking at-

Naruto: *Kisses Sasuke deeply* You know you love me. *Winks and licks lips*

Sasuke: D-do not. But I do know that AMB11 doesn't own Naruto or it's characters. *Leans down to kiss Naruto again*

Author: That was great guys! Good work.

Naruto: Any time. *Pats a stunned Sasuke on the cheek and walks away*

Sasuke: Good God. *Chases after the young girl*

* * *

Chapter 3: Wake Up Call

"There is no way, Dad. It's impossible. There is no way I'm going to school during the summer. Just no freakin' way." Naruto flopped down on her father's bed and fixed him with as menacing glare she could manage, but to Minato seemed more like she was pouting.

"It's not up to us. You got too many suspensions last year, and the school mailed us a notice requesting that you attend summer classes to make up the classes that you missed." Minato handed his daughter the letter from Amegakure High, then sat down beside Naruto, who buried herself under the blue comforter of the queen bed to hide from her father while she skimmed the printed letter that was signed by the principal at the bottom. Naruto swore loudly to herself. "Young lady, you do not speak like that." Minato smacked the top of the comforter where he was pretty sure her head was, and was rewarded with a pained groan.

"Yessir." Naruto kicked the comforter off of her and shoved a pillow down over her face. "Dtho I weewy 'ave oo dtho is?"

"Naruto, honey. I can't understand you." Minato plucked the pillow from his daughter and held it to his chest. "I do have one reservation about you going back to school."

"Hm?" Naruto ran a hand through her frizzed hair and tucked her legs under her, falling back onto the pillows on the bed, her waist length hair spread all around her. "What is it Daddy?"

"Well, it's just... We're so far away from Ame now that we're living here, and I don't want you to have to-"

"Dad, I'm fine. It was only a 10 minute trip before to get to school-"

"Bye train. We're at least 20 minutes from where we lived before and I don't want you getting up an hour early just to walk to the train station by yourself. It's not safe."

"Well, then what do you suppose I do?" Naruto crossed her legs under her and folded her arms across her chest, giving her father a patronizing look. "That was the closest public school to Konoha and we can't afford a private school."

"Mr. Uchiha actually wants to send you to Konoha High."

"That's a rich person school Dad. There's no way you'd be willing to let someone else pay for my high school education." Minato looked away, smiling sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, actually..."

"Daddy, you didn't."

"You're uniform is being mailed... I made a phone call last night to Ame to transfer your information to Konoha High some time during this week. Fugaku said he'd take care of getting the finances taken care of." Naruto stole the pillow back from her father, shoved it down over her face, and let out an ear piercing scream that had Minato covering his ears, smacking her with the other pillow on his bed in an attempt to get her to stop.

"Alright, alright. It's only for a year, so I'll deal with the stuck up, snobby, obnoxious-"

"You know Sasuke goes to school there." Naruto froze. She glanced at her father quickly, who nodded, a knowing smile on his face. "He's even taking summer courses so he can graduate early."

The door slammed so fast behind Naruto, that he was still feeling the rush of wind from when she had scrambled from his bed when she was already halfway down the hall outside. Minato chuckled to himself. This would be interesting.

* * *

Sasuke turned his bedside table lamp off then lay down on his back, arms crossed beneath his head. He ran a hand through his hair, that was flat from the shower he'd just stepped out of and closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose, the scent of dinner still lingering in the air. His thoughts turned to the new additions to his home.

Minato seemed sensible enough; he cooked, didn't make a mess, had a good sense of humor, and wasn't as irritating as he'd expected. His daughter was another story. The girl practically reeked of abnormalities. She was loud, flirtatious, could never shut her mouth, openly enjoyed annoying him to no end; she really got on his nerves. A blush rose to his cheeks. "But she's so cute."

The image of Naruto when she was straddling his waist came to mind. Her incredibly bright blue eyes; her wide smile that couldn't seem to leave her face once she saw him; her waterfall of golden blonde hair that always seemed slightly tousled; her unbelievable figure. Sasuke mentally took a step back once he remembered the feeling of her sitting on him, bouncing around in excitement, and the innocent image slowly started to change to something a bit less innocent. The feel of her tanned thighs left a phantom tingle on the palms of his hand, and he had to rub them on the legs of his nylon shorts to get rid of the feeling.

His forehead was scrunched up in a closed-eye scowl and a few beads of sweat ran down his brow line and into his hair. It had felt good, so incredibly good, to have her moving on him, his hands holding her legs tightly to him, his hips moving along with her as she moved. She had looked line an angel, with the light shadowing her face that was framed by her honey colored hair, her lips in a pout when she'd asked if he remembered her, subconsciously squeezing her thighs together. She had been so innocently sexy.

Sasuke's breathing was a little off and his lips were parted while he tried to calm himself down. He ran both hands through his hair then lifted the edge of his comforter and groaned when he saw a tent in his shorts. Sasuke tugged his shirt off over his head to try and relieve himself of the heat, but images of Naruto doing the same while he watched quickly brought one of his hands down under the comforter to rub his predicament. Sasuke groaned and dropped his head back against his pillow when he slipped his hand underneath the waistband of his shorts and boxers and wrapped his fingers around his member, starting a slow, tortuous pace.

He sped up just a little when he started to feel impatient with the time it was taking him to get himself fully worked up, and he eventually caved and began picturing Naruto's hand on him instead of his own. She was looking at him innocently, her neck bared on one side, a falsely curious gleam in her eyes and a pink dusting on her cheeks while she asked him if it felt good. His pumping sped up again, and his hips started to buck up into his hand. His quiet grunts filled the otherwise silent air of his bedroom, and his bit down on his lip to keep the young girl sleeping next door from hearing him.

He was so close, his vision starting to fuzz around the edges and his thrusts becoming more sporadic, when heavy footsteps of someone running down the hall snapped him back to attention. Sasuke panicked. He shoved his member back into his shorts, eternally grateful that he was wearing something that stretched. He pulled the cover up over his waist and turned on his side in preparation for whoever it was possibly entering his room. He focused on trying to calm his breathing and hold a semblance of being normal despite the raging erection stretching the elastic band of his pants so much that they weren't even touching skin on his stomach anymore. He shut his eyes and attempted to feign sleep.

Sasuke's door opened, and someone slipped inside and shut the door behind them before he could figure out who it was. The person sat on the edge of his bed, and it barely indented, so obviously this person was light. There was a giggle and Sasuke had to fight the urge to yell at the girl for interrupting his previous occupation when he was so close to being finished.

Naruto curled up next to him and snickered quietly. "You're so cute when you sleep Sasuke. You don't look angry." Naruto traced Sasuke's jaw with her finger and smiled. She kissed his still lips, and Sasuke prided himself on not moving an inch despite freaking out inside. Naruto pressed her forehead to his. "You know Sasuke, you and I are going to be going to school together. Your father wants me to go to Konoha High, so maybe we'll get lucky and be in the same class. Of course, I'd need your help in a few subjects, so that will give us time to be together. I can't wait for school for the first time in my life." Sasuke felt her lips against his again, but it was softer this time, gentle and caring. Sasuke used every inch of his self control to not kiss the gorgeous young woman in his bed, and wanted to scream 'Hallelujah' when she finally rolled out of his bed and walked quietly towards the door.

"Goodnight, Sasuke. I love you." The last part was whispered, just barely audible, and it wouldn't have even been noticed had there been any sound in the room, but Sasuke heard her quiet confession clearly. She shut the door behind her with a click, and Sasuke turned onto his back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Her voice wasn't the same. It was lower, and she sounded so serious." Sasuke shook his head to clear it. "What do I care anyway. She's just hot, it's not like she's any different from the girls at school that stalk me." Sasuke turned back on his side and took a deep breath. His eyes abruptly snapped open.

His pillow smelled like her, a very light perfume that would scream sex to just about any guy he knew. He couldn't even determine what it smelled like, but the scent alone had him burying his face in his pillow, replaying the kisses she'd given him while she thought he was asleep. Sasuke felt the crotch of his pants and was relieved to feel that he'd settled and was finally relaxing, but dismayed when his hand came away wet. He got up to change, but paused at the dresser next to his door when a thought occurred to him. He glanced down at his doorknob.

"I swear I locked this when I went to bed." Sasuke squatted down and turned the knob slowly until he heard a very faint click. "She picked the lock! What the crap?" He pulled the door open and saw the bobby pin lodged in the other side of the knob. "You know what, fine. Whatever. Let her be a stalker."

Sasuke dropped back onto his bed and was out in minutes, unaware, that hours later, his guest returned to his room and slipped back into bed with him, a gentle, loving smile gracing her lips when Sasuke wrapped a muscled arm around her waist while he slept.

* * *

Sasuke woke when there was a distinct weight shift in his bed, as if someone had sat up suddenly. Sasuke cracked an eye open and was met with a very nice view of someone bent over on the side of his bed, someone that was wearing a very appealing pair of white panties covered in black lace. Sasuke swallowed and scooted backwards and away from the very distinctly female person that had very obviously been sleeping in his bed. Long blond hair flipped over her shoulder and blue eyes met his black ones when she looked at him over her shoulder, her hair brushing the small of her back when she moved.

Naruto climbed back into bed beside Sasuke, who was gawking at her while she crawled up to him and placed her hand on his bare chest.

"Sleep well?" She was leaning over him and pushing him back down into the bed cushions. She tucked some of the hair hanging in her face behind her ear and smiled widely at Sasuke, then slung one leg over his and straddled his thigh.

"Get off and get out." Sasuke tried to sit up but was pushed back down when Naruto attached her lips to his and slid her tongue between his lips in a moment of shock. Naruto pulled Sasuke's tongue into her mouth and sucked gently, tangling sensuously with his until Sasuke pushed her away abruptly by her shoulders. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

"Good morning kiss!" Naruto grinned widely before getting off of Sasuke's bed and heading towards the door. Sasuke's eyes darted down to her rear end against his will to watch the peeks of her underwear flashing out from under her over sized t-shirt, which he suddenly realized was the one he'd taken off and dropped on the floor last night.

"Breakfast is soon. Be sure to head down when you've gotten dressed, or you can feel free to walk around like that all you want." Naruto shut the door happily behind her and walked down the hall to the bathroom, passing Itachi's room on her way, then backtracking to his bedroom door when she heard his bed creaking. "Guess he's up. Might as well tell him Dad made donuts."

Naruto opened his door and stepped into the large room, instantly noticing the easel and paints in the corner of the room along with a red and black vortex painted on a large canvas; he was really talented.

She walked over to his bed and sat down beside him. "I was wrong, he must've been dreaming or something." Naruto ran a hand through his long hair that fanned out across his pillow. "I'm jealous of how pretty you are 'Tachi." Naruto kissed his forehead, his cheek, and then behind his ear, smirking when he groaned in his sleep. She lay down behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek up against his and tangling her legs with his. "Wake up I-ta-chi." She licked his neck and laughed hysterically when he suddenly jumped and fell out of the bed. He hit the floor with a solid thunk and a groan.

"Geez. I didn't know that two young men would be so upset to find me in their bed in the morning." Naruto climbed out of the large bed, pouting, and sashayed over to the door, leaving a stunned Itachi sprawled on the plush, cream-colored carpet.

"Good morning 'Tachi." She blew him a kiss then shut the door behind her to walk to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"What the heck just happened?" Itachi flopped down to his back on the floor and tried to slow his breathing. "How did she get in here? I locked my door last night!" Itachi heard the faint call of 'Ditto' from outside his door as his brother walked to the stairs to go eat breakfast.

. . . . . .

End Chapter 3

* * *

1. So, I hope you all enjoyed this, because it was my first time writing anything like this!

2. I seriously couldn't help myself from adding in Itachi at the end. Even though he's so cold and stuff in the anime and manga, I figure that if he hadn't ruined his life when he was younger, he'd have a pretty decent sense of humor. He's such a nice guy, and is always really quiet, and as we all know, it's always the quiet ones.

3. Not much to say, except there will be a bit of a time skip for the next chapter.

4. Favorite if you liked this! Follow if you loved it! Review if you can't wait to read the next part of it!

5. The title of this chapter came to me from my sister waking me up by sitting on me this morning and me trying to kill her because it was 5am. The first reason for it being called Wake Up Call is when Naruto is told she had to go to school and she wasn't going to get a long summer break off of classes. The second reason is that Sasuke discovers that he feels sexually attracted to Naruto because of her looks. I'm sure you can guess the last reason, heheh.

Read and Review! Love, AMB11!


	4. I'm Not Stupid!

Hey y'all! So I hope you've enjoyed this story so far, because I'm having a pretty good time writing it. Thank you so much for all of the ideas that have been sent in to me!

Thanks so much to those who sent in ideas! I hope that the guest that sent in a review for last chapter reads this, because part of this chapter is for you! Thank you very much for sending in your idea. I thought it was great and I was excited to work it into this. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **

Itachi: I'm not really sure why I'm here.

Author: Because you said you were jealous that you haven't been invited to help out with the disclaimer yet.

Itachi: What? When did I say that?

Sasuke: I wrote a note with your name on it and slipped it under the author's front door.

Itachi: I'll kill you.

Sasuke: I'll kill you first! I will dedicate my whole life to hunting you down and killing you!

Itachi: Eh, never mind, I'm not one to hold a grudge. Since I'm here, "AMB11 doesn't own Naruto."

Sasuke: I'm still going to kill you. It's my new life goal. Killing you is now the only thing I want to do in life.

Itachi: Good luck with that.

* * *

Chapter 4: I'm Not Stupid!

"Why are you in here? Get out of my bed!" Sasuke pushed the intruder to the floor and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He pinched the skin between his eyes and inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly through his nose to try and calm himself. Sasuke checked the clock on his bedside table and groaned. "Why do people keep waking me up before six? My orientation may be this morning, but I don't need to be there for 3 hours." He mumbled under his breath, looking down tiredly at his intruder, who was groaning in pain from having hit the floor. "What do you think you're doing Itachi?"

"Well, since Naruto has been visiting either you or me every night for the past week, I thought I'd save her the decision of choosing between us and just sleep in the same place as you. I came in around midnight, and you were already asleep, so I didn't bother with waking you. It's just like our sleepovers when we were little and you were afraid to sleep without your beloved older brother." Itachi explained calmly while he brushed his sweatpants off before crossing his arms across his t-shirt clad chest. He ran his hand through his hair and tucked it behind his ears, blowing a few stray hairs from his face.

"Don't be an idiot, we just shared a room for a few years before I went to kindergarten." Sasuke threw the covers off of his lap and stretched his shoulders before standing with a yawn. He walked past Itachi, who sat back down on the edge of Sasuke's bed, and made his way into the closet to change. "That girl is such a pain. I don't understand why she's always sneaking into our rooms when she loves hers so much."

"I don't understand why she does it any more than you do, but I'm sure there's a reason. I don't think she's doing it to be annoying." Itachi's eyes followed Sasuke as he busied himself tidying up around the bedroom.

"Why are you still here? You have class this morning. Get out and go get ready. You're my ride to orientation this morning." Sasuke threw the clothes he'd collected from around the room into the open laundry hamper and dragged Itachi by his wrist to the door.

"Actually, my car broke down after my trip to the grocery store yesterday. You and Naruto are going to have to walk." Sasuke groaned loudly in annoyance before shutting the door. Itachi stretched as he walked down the hall, stopping when he reached Naruto's orange flower-adorned bedroom door. Itachi cracked the door open and peeked inside.

Naruto turned from her laptop screen when the door opened, her rolling desk chair spinning with her. She yawned widely, one hand covering her mouth, and rubbed her sleep-filled eyes. "Morning Itachi. Need something?"

"Did... Did you stay up all night?" Itachi pushed the door open all the way, the knob gently hitting the wall, and walked across the room to stand beside the exhausted young lady. He felt her forehead, surprised when she was cold instead of warm. Naruto nodded her head and spun back around to face her computer, shutting down a few programs before closing the screen and pushing her chair back to stand. "Why?"

"Well, I missed a lot of classes this last year because of suspension, so I wanted to read up on a few things before I went to a new school. Sasuke says the teachers always give a test during orientation to find out what level the students are on, and I didn't want to feel like a complete idiot." She grinned at Itachi, who shook his head in disbelief.

"You're such a unique character. So, that's why you're going to summer classes. Why were you suspended?" Naruto pulled the the cream colored curtain that covered the two wall-to-ceiling windows to the side and latched it to the wall to let the rising sun illuminate the room. Itachi sat himself gracefully in the chair she'd just vacated while she tugged a pair of fuzzy orange socks onto her feet.

"Have you ever seen a teacher stuck to the floor of a classroom with bubble gum before?" Naruto's voice was layered with humor at the confused expression on Itachi's face. "I love practical jokes, and I'd always get in trouble for my really good ones. One time I painted the set of statues outside of the school using condiment packages from the cafeteria. After a while, other people started pranking teachers and I'd get the blame for it. I guess I missed too much school to pass my class, so I have to take a few courses to make up for it."

"So that's why. I thought you seemed a bit eccentric, but I didn't take you for someone to flunk a class."

"Thanks Itachi. That's really nice coming from you." Naruto kissed Itachi's cheek and flashed him a small smile before gesturing to the door, her uniform in hand. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I need to change before I help my father with breakfast. He's bound to be down there already trying to cook everything in the fridge and I'll have to keep an eye on him." Itachi hurried out the door and was already almost to the bathroom when he heard Naruto calling his name. The blonde jogged over to him, her footsteps heavy on the wooden floor. she slid to a stop, almost falling to her rear in the process.

"Why is Sasuke going to class during the summer? There's no way someone like him would get any kind of grade that wasn't passing."

"He wants to graduate early, so he's going during the summer and winter to get all of his credits. I think he wanted to take a music course Konoha University is offering this spring, and he didn't want to have classes to worry about while studying at the university."

"I see. Thanks Itachi." Naruto entered the bathroom to get ready and shut the door with a click, leaving Itachi standing outside the door, hand raised to open it.

"But I needed to go to the bathroom." Itachi sighed and hurried to the stairs to use the restroom on the second floor.

* * *

"How do I look?" Naruto made her way into the kitchen and dropped her satchel beside her seat at the large dining table. She spun around for the room full of males, an impossibly bright smile lighting up her face.

"Very nice, Miss Uzumaki." Fugaku leaned back in his chair and put a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth before flipping to the next page in the newspaper that was clutched tightly in his hands. Itachi nodded in agreement, his breath catching when she hugged him tightly from behind his chair, giggling the entire time.

"You look a mess." Sasuke brushed past her on his way towards the refrigerator to get a drink. He poured himself a tall glass of V8 and took a sip. "You're tie isn't done properly, your shirt has four buttons undone instead of two, and," Sasuke raked his eyes over the girl standing beside his brother, "have you ever heard of a hairbrush?" Sasuke plopped down into his chair and started sorting through his bag.

Naruto blinked back the tears in her eyes at Sasuke's disapproval of her appearance and set to work fixing it, Itachi eventually taking pity on the poor girl and doing her tie for her.

"You look great Naru." Minato wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulder and kissed the top of her head. He ran his fingers through her mussed hair in an attempt to straighten out a few of the kinks, but gave up when his hand almost got stuck in the thick mass of blonde waves. Naruto smiled at her father and took the plate of waffles he'd been carrying to the table from him. She sat down beside Sasuke and took a few waffles from the stack then passed it across from her to Itachi, who helped himself. Naruto set to eating, occasionally chatting with her father and Fugaku between bites. Sasuke glanced at the girl beside him using his peripheral vision before turning back to his meal, Itachi watching him closely the entire time.

"Sasuke, are you prepared for your exams today?" Itachi's fork scraped across his plate as he scooped some of the excess powdered sugar from his dish and spooned the sweet confection into his mouth. Sasuke grimaced at his brother's sweet obsession and nodded with a grunt.

"I studied for a while yesterday before bed, and it hasn't been very long since spring ended, so I'll do fine."

"What about you Naruto, are you ready to start school?" Fugaku folded his paper up and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands, his elbows on either side of his plate on the table.

Naruto nodded slowly, her head hanging down a bit, bangs obscuring the dark circles under her eyes she'd tried her hardest to hide with concealer. "I think I'll do alright. School isn't really my thing." Naruto ate the last bite off of her plate and began collecting a few of the empty dishes on the table.

"Shocker. I'd have guessed a street corner worked better for you." Sasuke mumbled into his cup just loud enough for the girl beside him to hear. Naruto froze and pulled her lower lip between her teeth. She glanced over around the table at the three other occupants that were engaged in a conversation about Itachi's university studies. Sasuke finished the last of his tomato juice and wiped his mouth with a napkin, ignoring the girl he'd just insulted. Naruto's eyes glazed over with tears before she stood up and cleared her space at the table, hurrying out of the kitchen without a word.

Naruto ran up the stairs and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. She sat down on the counter top and held the black towel to her face to keep her tears from ruining her crisp white uniform shirt. She looked in the mirror and sniffled. "First, I was too ugly for him to care about. Now, all I do is irritate him and he thinks I'd be better off as a stripper. Just what does it take to get Sasuke to be impressed by me?"

"Have you tried a subtler approach, or maybe besting him in something?" Naruto gasped and clutched at her shirt above her heart, afraid that the pounding organ would burst out of her chest in surprise. Itachi wiped a tear that was rolling down her cheek away with his thumb.

"Itachi, you scared me!" Naruto wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands and blew her nose into the wad of tissues Itachi had handed to her.

"You're in love with an idiot."

"Sasuke is not an idiot!"

"You're still defending him even though he just insulted all of the work you put into changing yourself for him?" A fresh round of tears rolled down Naruto's cheeks and she grit her teeth to fight back a sob.

"You spoke with my father, didn't you." Itachi nodded. "I worked so hard because I wanted to impress him. I didn't mind if it wasn't love at first sight, I just wanted him to at least like me. I've tried everything that I knew a guy would like." Naruto felt Itachi hug her hesitantly, and she wrapped her arms around his waist in assurance and buried her face in his chest. Itachi's arms tightened their hold on her and one hand rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I think you've been going about it the wrong way. Most guys would appreciate that you like to sleep beside them and would go so far as to break into their room to do it, or kiss them awake every morning, or even walk around in your underwear. Like me, I very much so appreciate that you do that." Naruto chuckled at his comment and snuggled into his navy sweater a bit more. "But Sasuke, well Sasuke is a bit retarded when it comes to girls. You see," Itachi released Naruto, but held on to her by her forearms and held her at arms length to look her in the eyes, which were red and slightly puffy, "We Uchiha men attract quite a few young ladies because of our natural aesthetic appeal, and most of them only like us because we look the way we do and we have money and influence. Sasuke's done everything he can to block the women that throw themselves at him out of his life, and I feel like he's trying very hard to classify you with the girls that declare their love for him, but are only after him for money or his ridiculous hair."

Naruto smiled and ran Itachi's ponytail through her fingers. "You're one to talk 'Tachi. So, how do I get out of this stalker zone?"

"Well..." Itachi released her arms and ran a hand through his bangs. "You need to be less abrasive; go about things in a way that's more genuine in proving that your feelings are sincere, as I trust they are. I'd say, the best way to get Sasuke to move you out of the 'stalker zone' as you so eloquently put it, and into the place you want to be, would be to become his equal or rival; make him notice you and recognize your potential."

"So I need to show him that I'm someone worth noticing?"

"Absolutely. Getting past his thick skull and under his skin, along with the way you look and that eccentric personality of yours will be sure to get him interested in you."

Naruto breathed in deeply through her nose and blinked her eyes before looking Itachi in the eye. "So I should stop trying to appeal to him?"

"No, no! Keep doing what you're doing now, just work on what we discussed, and maybe tone it back a bit, but don't stop altogether." Naruto wanted to laugh at his rushed response, but nodded anyway.

"Thanks Itachi." Itachi patted the short blonde on top of her head, which was just even with his shoulder, and smiled gently.

"Any time." Naruto brushed past him, heading slowly towards the steps until she felt Itachi smack her rear loudly with the palm of his large hand. Naruto squeaked loudly while pulling her mid-thigh length skirt down and gaped at the chuckling man.

"Walk faster or you'll be late." Naruto ran down the stairs as fast as she could without tripping.

* * *

Sasuke locked the door behind him before walking slowly down the porch stairs and veering right, passing the garden that was on the side of the long drive way. He met Naruto, who was waiting outside the gate, and stopped walking when she called his name as he walked by.

"Sasuke. Do... Would you... What I mean is..."

"Out with it or we'll be late." Naruto walked over to him and stopped to stand on his left.

"Would you mind if we walked together?" Sasuke's eyes widened a bit in surprise, having not expected her to ask so politely. "I mean, I'm not too familiar with the area or anything, but I could probably find my way there if you'd prefer not to be seen with me. I wouldn't want for someone to assume anything since you don't really like me, so I wanted to ask if it'd be alright. If it's not I can wait for a bit while you go on ahead and come later. I don't mind being late."

Sasuke clapped a hand over Naruto's mouth, an almost unnoticeable smile on his lips. "Just shut up and come on. You're rambling." Naruto's face lit up and her demeanor went from being shy and nervous to excited in seconds. "But no touching me."

"Deal." Sasuke shoved his hands in his pocket and rolled his shoulder before setting off down the sidewalk, Naruto matching his every step. There wasn't much conversation, but when there was silence, it was relatively comfortable until Naruto would feel antsy and break it with an odd comment here and there.

"So, do you know what my teacher will be like?"

Sasuke raised a brow and fixed his gaze on the short girl beside him. "Depends. Who is it?"

Naruto dug a slip of paper out of an outside pocket on her shoulder bag and straightened the wrinkles out of it. "Kakashi Hatake." Sasuke groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We have the same teacher. Don't get too excited. Hatake isn't anything special, and he's pretty much always late. If you see him reading an orange book, don't bother asking what it's about."

"Is it Icha-Icha?" Naruto stopped when Sasuke froze in his tracks.

"How do you know about that crap? I should've guessed a girl like you reads porn." Sasuke started off again, the school gates coming into view.

"Sasuke, that's mean. I've never read them. My dad's old landlord was the author of them, a Mr. Jiraiya, I think. My dad owns one of every copy."

Sasuke chuckled quietly, Naruto smiling at the sound. "So Minato reads porn?"

"Not really, I think he bought them so Jiraiya wouldn't raise our rent. But, I'm not sure what he does in his free time, so I can't guarantee that he hasn't read them. I've seen your dad sneaking a few of them from his room once."

"Really? Are you serious?" Sasuke was smiling, and Naruto found that it really made him infinitely more attractive. She was glad that she'd finally gotten him to talk to her, and things were actually going well.

"Sasuke! Who's that you're walking with?" Sasuke's smile faded, and Naruto immediately missed it, wishing that the brunette that was rushing towards them would disappear and give her back the moment of peace she'd been enjoying with Sasuke.

"Hey, nice to meet ya. I'm Kiba." Naruto shook the hand that was offered to her, then punched Sasuke's arm and rolled her eyes at Kiba, which had Sasuke fighting back a smirk.

"He a friend of yours?"

"No."

"Oh, come on Sasuke. Don't be like that. Yes, we're friends!" Kiba slung his arm around the shorter man's shoulders and grinned widely. "So, what's this little hottie's name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke grimaced and shrugged Kiba's arm off his shoulders, then brushed off the sleeve of his blazer.

"How does a fuddyduddy like Sasuke know someone that looks like you?" Kiba inquired, sneaking a bit closer to Naruto.

"We live together." Sasuke slapped a hand over her mouth and Kiba took a step back from the two.

"Would you shut up!" Sasuke whispered fiercely into Naruto's ear.

"You didn't let me finish." Naruto pouted, peeling Sasuke's hand off of her face. "Our dad's are old friends, and Mr. Uchiha was kind enough to help my father and I out when we started having some trouble when my mom passed. We moved in, so now Sasuke and I live together until my father can get a few things taken care of. Geez, Sasuke. Interrupting people when they're talking is rude, you know." Naruto huffed then brushed past the two young men and into the gates, which she was suddenly pulled through before she could even yell for help.

Kiba turned to Sasuke, horror written across the tall brunettes' face, Sasuke's more or less indifferent. "Sasuke, they got her."

"Not my problem."

"Man, they're your creepy fan girls, and you're just going to sacrifice the new girl to them?"

"Listen, if she's not in class in 15 minutes, I'll go look for her."

"That's the best I'm going to get out of you, isn't it?"

"Hn."

* * *

"Would you get out of my face?" Naruto stood up and brushed off the back of her skirt jerkily. She looked at the three girls in front of her and groaned. "You're Sasuke's stalkers Itachi's told me so much about, aren't you?"

"How do you know our Sasuke?" The red head gave Naruto a once over then pushed her glasses up her nose, sniffing in disapproval.

Naruto glanced between the done-up faces of the three girls, one a platinum blonde, one with dyed pink hair, and the other a vibrant red-head, and decided that telling the truth wouldn't be a very good idea. "Our dad's are old friends, so we've known each other since we were kids. I moved recently and now we live close by. He was nice and was showing me the way to the school since I wasn't sure where it was. Listen, my class starts in five minutes and I really can't be late. It was nice meeting you though." Naruto collected her bag from the ground and set off to the steps at the front of the school, but stopped when the blonde girl grabbed her shoulder.

"We're, umm, sorry that we grabbed you so suddenly. I'm Ino, by the way. And this is Sakura and Karin." The blonde, Ino, gestured first to the pink-haired girl, then the rude red-head.

"Naruto. Now, I really need to go. I'm not even sure where my classroom is."

"Oh! Who do you have?" Ino appeared to be the biggest talker out of the threesome, and Naruto wasn't exactly sure what to think of them other than that they'd obviously been waiting for Sasuke to show up at the gate for who knows how long.

"Mr. Hatake."

"Me too, I'll walk with you." Sakura pulled her bag up onto her shoulder and grabbed Naruto by the hand in a bruising grip and dragged her through the front door of the school and down the hall. They climbed a few sets of stairs, and by the time they'd reached the classroom, which was room 412 in the west wing, as Sakura had explained, they were breathing a bit hard from exertion. Naruto walked into the classroom a few minutes before the bell was scheduled to ring, located the desk that had her name on it and settled down, running her fingers through her hair. She cast a glance out the window, noticed Itachi walking past the school gates on his way to his class at the university, and she smiled.

Naruto unlocked the window, threw it open, much to the surprise of the other students that were chatting in the classroom, and cupped her hands around her mouth. "OI! ITACHI!"

Itachi looked up at the voice calling his name, saw the blonde waving like an idiot from the window, pressed his fingers to his lips and blew her a kiss, smiling when she fell backwards laughing. He ignored all of the other girls that had pressed themselves to the window to catch a glimpse of the older Uchiha and waited for his favorite young blonde to come back to the window.

"TELL SASUKE THAT HIS DADDY SAYS TO TRY HIS BEST ON HIS TEST TODAY!" Itachi shouted back to Naruto, who nodded enthusiastically. Sasuke ran from his spot at the doorway, where he'd been standing, listening to the whole thing, trying to block it from his mind, and shook his fist at his brother outside the window.

"I'LL KILL YOU ITACHI!" Sasuke watched as his brother waved him off and continued on his way down the street.

Kakashi entered the room, his nose shoved inside the book that Naruto had figured he'd have from what Sasuke had told her, so she and all of the other students settled down in their assigned seats.

"Alright, so, I don't feel like teaching anything, and I'm sure you don't feel like learning anything, so this'll be a win-win for us all." Kakashi called the name of a student that Naruto didn't recognize, mainly because he had practically every part of his face covered, a hood from a sweatshirt that was unzipped under his blazer pulled over his head, shades resting on his nose despite being inside, and the collar of his button up flipped up, and asked him to pass out a packet to each student in the room. The boy, Shino, handed her the stapled packet. She read the words 'Qualifications Exam' and inwardly groaned; the packet was at least 20 pages.

"Kakashi man, I thought you said we wouldn't have to do anything!" Kiba yelled from his seat in the back of the classroom.

"It's Mr. Hatake. And no, I said you wouldn't be learning anything. This is a test on material you should already know, so it's as I said, a win-win. I don't teach, you don't learn, but you still have to take the test for a grade, so deal with it Inuzuka or get out." Kakashi turned the page of his book and kicked his feet up on his desk at the front of the classroom.

Naruto looked down at her test and swallowed dryly, preparing herself for the worst. 'Okay, question one...'

* * *

Naruto dug her spare led out of her bag and reloaded her mechanical pencil before turning to the final page of her test. She looked around her and was pleased to see that at least she wasn't the last one finished, the only ones that had being Sasuke, Sakura, that Shino kid, and some girl with blue hair that had practically dashed up to the front of her room and back to her seat in the rear so fast that she'd been a blur; poor thing must be shy.

The material was all things she'd covered, and Naruto was fairly certain she'd get a fairly decent score, but she wasn't a fast worker. Itachi's words rang in her mind though, and she was determined to become Sasuke's rival and get him to notice her, and the rest of the class in the process if she could. Naruto worked out the last algebraic equation on the page and pushed her chair back. She made her way to the teacher's desk, set her test down, then looked at the teacher for a moment, waiting for him to recognize her before she asked her question.

"What?" Kakashi inquired, not even glancing up from his book.

"Did you know the next in the series comes out next Tuesday?" Naruto whispered, pointing at the book in her teacher's hands. Kakashi tugged the scarf that was around his neck and covering his face up when it started slipping when his jaw dropped.

"Seriously? I thought it came out next month."

Naruto smirked. "Not if you know the author. You seem like a big fan." Kakashi nodded, but kept his demeanor cool despite his inner excitement. "I could get you one if you paid me back, and yes, it'd be legal. The author was my landlord for about 11 years."

Kakashi smiled at her, or at least she thought he had from the way the skin around his eyes crinkled up. "I'd appreciate that Ms. Uzumaki. I'll bring in some money next Monday." Naruto nodded her head and headed back to her seat, glancing up at the silver-haired man that seemed to be in a much better mood, even muttering a 'Thanks' when Kiba placed his test in the stack.

'Good deed of the day, done.'

* * *

"How did you-" Sasuke glanced between his test and the one that had been slapped down next to it on his bed. "It's impossible. There's just no way that this is true." Naruto sat down on the edge of the bed then sprawled out onto her back, grinning like a crazy person.

"Read it out loud. I wanna hear it. You got a?"

"99 out of 100." Sasuke's tone was one of disbelief, despite having the proof written in red in front of him.

"And my score was?"

"100 out of 100." Naruto suddenly hugged Sasuke tightly, who, in his shocked state, wasn't quick enough to push her off before she'd already let go.

"My dad is going to be so proud of me when I show him when he gets home from his gig later. I stayed up all night studying, and it really payed off! You're happy for me, right Sasuke?"

"Hn." Sasuke nodded ever so slightly, his eyes still glued to the papers in front of him.

"I did it for you."

Sasuke snapped to attention and looked at the girl in front of him, who seemed suddenly serious, her endlessly blue eyes were captivating and almost hypnotic. "What?"

"I wanted to show you... that... I wanted to show that I'm not stupid. I hope getting it in writing is proof enough." Naruto smiled at him, and Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat at the warmth Naruto was emitting.

"Fine." Sasuke willed his gaze away and back to the test papers in front of him. Naruto dashed out of the room in excitement, and Sasuke heard her door slam shut moments afterward.

"How on earth did she do better than me? I know I answered everything correctly." Sasuke flipped through both test papers, comparing each portion and section of the test, even looking at the methods used to solve each problem to find some sort of flaw in his exam. He smiled when he made it to the math portion of the test. "She uses the older methods to solve her problems. She probably learned this stuff years ago and didn't bother updating her knowledge. No wonder it took her so long to finish, doing some of this must have taken forever."

Sasuke turned to the final page, and his smiled faded into a frown. His paper had a big 'X' on the question number in red sharpie, while Naruto's had her perfect score written at the bottom and the question,_"Let me know how much I need to bring you so you can get me my book. Thank you so much for getting me the Icha-Icha sequel three weeks ahead of schedule!"_ Sasuke rolled his eyes at his teacher's expense.

"What a pervert." He skimmed over the page and noticed the note scrawled across the bottom in his teacher's handwriting.

_"Skipped final step. Incomplete."-Mr. Hatake. _

"You'd think you'd get it by now that no one calls you that Kakashi. And what do you mean incomplete?" Sasuke looked over his answer and work again, gave in and finally looked to Naruto's for the answer. Sasuke froze when he realized exactly what he'd done wrong. "I didn't underline my answer. That's how she-" He cut himself off and looked between the two tests a second time. He flipped back through his packet and noticed each of his answers was underlined. Except for the last one.

Sasuke wanted to hit himself for his mistake. He held Naruto's test back up and glared at the 100% that was circled in red on the first page. "I just don't understand it."

"Or maybe you just don't understand her." Sasuke started at his brother's voice.

"You're such a freak. You're always showing up at the weirdest times, and do you ever knock?" Sasuke kicked his shoes off to the side of his bed while he glared at Itachi from across the room.

"Knock?" Itachi shook his head. "Anyways, I heard that Naruto beat you. You proud of her hard work?"

"Not really; just shocked is all. She only beat me because I forgot to underline something. It's not like she beat me by some form of intelligence or anything. One good grade on a test doesn't prove she's a genius."

"That's true. She may not be a genius like some people in this house are, but she sure was determined to do anything to get a good score on that exam. When was the last time you spent nearly 10 hours studying through the night for a review?"

"Never." Sasuke lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Exactly. We don't understand how she works, because she works differently than us." Itachi stepped out of the room and shut the door to a crack. "Oh, and Sasuke. Even if she didn't beat you by solving some advanced problem or writing a 30 page essay, following the directions properly is still a form of intelligence."

Sasuke threw his pillow at the door just as it closed. He sat up, covered his face with his hands and swore. "I hate it when you make sense Itachi."

* * *

There was a knock on his door, and Sasuke was jolted from his sleep-fogged state.

"Come in." He sat up in bed and ran a hand through his mussed hair before rubbing his eyes. His bedroom door opened, and Naruto stepped inside wearing a black t-shirt and orange gym shorts with black stripes. "What do you want Naruto? It's past midnight."

Naruto shuffled across the carpet and stood beside his bed. Even though the room was dark, Sasuke could tell her eyes were red and puffy, and that there were tear trails running down her cheeks. Sasuke sighed and patted the bed beside him, and she sat down hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, who sniffed for a bit before rubbing her eyes with her small fist.

"Can I sleep in here with you?" Sasuke bit his lip when her voice came out weak and watery.

"Why? What's wrong with your room?"

"I'm afraid." Naruto brought her knees up to her chin and sniffed again.

"Of what? The dark? Because it's dark in here too, idiot." Sasuke shivered involuntarily when Naruto turned her watery blue eyes on him and shook her head.

"It isn't the dark Sasuke. I just... I'm afraid of being alone. I've always shared a room with my mom and dad, ever since I was little. And then, it was just me and my dad for a while, and even then it seemed lonely without my mom. But now," Naruto paused to wipe her eyes again, "it's just me, and this huge room, and it's so cold and quiet. I don't like to be alone. So, I'm afraid. My mom left, and now I don't have my father to be by my side to protect me when I sleep."

"I see." Sasuke placed his hand hesitantly on Naruto's back and patted it gently out of nervousness. "You've never asked for permission before, so why now?"

"Itachi told me it bothered you, so I thought I'd ask this time, even if you might say no." Naruto leaned her head on his bare shoulder and Sasuke felt a shot of warmth spread down his spine from the point of contact.

"So, Itachi told you that, did he?" Sasuke felt her nod against him and a tear landed on the bed sheets between them, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "It scares you that much to be by yourself?"

"I've been alone all my life, but that time when I'd sleep snuggled between my parents, and eventually in a bed nearby to them, was the only time I wouldn't be by myself. You see, no one liked me, or would talk to me, or look at me without disdain. We were poor, and I was ugly and stupid. But my parents would always be happy for me to sit between them to rest. I just can't have that taken away from me." Naruto's head hung low on her shoulders, which shook with the sobs she held back.

Sasuke lay back on the bed and pulled Naruto down beside him, where she immediately snuggled up to his chest. He pulled the comforter over the both of them and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't start thinking this means I like you. I just want to get to sleep, and this seems to be the fastest way." A tear slid from Sasuke's eyes to the pillow under his head as Naruto placed her head under his chin.

"I understand." Her legs tangled with his comfortably.

'I just wish I understood you.' Sasuke thought as he slipped into unconsciousness with his arms wrapped firmly around Naruto's waist.

. . . . .

End Chapter 4

* * *

1. That is the longest chapter I've ever written for a fanfiction. Rejoice! 'Tis complete!

2. So, thumbs up for the whole ending scene, right? I'm slowly explaining away the different quirks we've been seeing from Naruto up to this point. I told you people to hold off on judging her character straight from the beginning! I did tell you that, right? Hmph, anyways. Every thing she does holds meaning, so just hold your horses and wait for the reasons why!

3. I've discovered that I have a bad habit of writing in the evenings and posting at odd hours of the night... Yeah, no way that's stopping any time soon. I write infinitely better when it's dark outside and I'm half asleep for reasons I will never understand.

4. Well, anyways, I really hope you like this chapter despite it's overall lack of humor aside from a moment here and there, but I did add in bits of fluff and drama in some spots. Pay attention to some of the introduced or mentioned characters, because they will all return!

5. So, just to clarify, Sasuke and Naruto will not return to school for another two weeks. Today was an orientation where they were tested for skill and understanding and were able to walk around and tour the campus to familiarize themselves if need be. I will re-visit this eventually, so don't worry.

6. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

7. Remember to keep them reviews and ideas coming!

R & R, Love AMB11!


	5. Better Than You Think

Okay, so I've gotten a request for Naruto to get back at Sasuke for being hurtful and a different one desiring pranks instead of tears. For the two of you who sent in those requests, this is for you, because I'm going to combine the two of them in this filler chapter!

**Disclaimer:**

Minato: Hey!

Author: Um... What is he doing here? I asked for Itachi.

Minato: Itachi jumped out a window when he found out you were looking for him.

Author: I see... Well it wouldn't be the first time. Where's your daughter and her boyfriend?

Sasuke: I'm not her boyfriend! I don't even like her!

Naruto: Sasuke! That hurts. *Runs from the room*

Sasuke: Crap. Look what you did now! *Chases after her*

Author: Well, I guess you'll suffice.

Minato: Yay! AMB11 doesn't own Naruto! How was that Ms. Author?

Author: I've seen better, but good job anyway. Now... Where's Itachi hiding... mwahahaha...

* * *

Chapter 5: Better Than You Think

"Dear God. She's finally started." Minato stared into the open refrigerator, his eyes glued to the contents inside. It'd been three days since orientation, and Naruto had been over the moon about her exam grade, but now that she was settling down, she'd finally gotten around to doing it. "F-Fugaku!" Minato slammed the refrigerator door shut and ran all through the house looking for his friend. He raced up the stairs, taking two and sometimes three at a time until he made it to the landing of the third floor, immediately racing down the hallway with the speed of an Olympian sprinter. He tore open the door of the eldest Uchiha's bedroom, and cringed when the door hit the wall with a sound way too loud for the circumstance. Fugaku shot up in bed at the ringing of what sounded like a siren going off in his bedroom.

"What was that Minato? What in God's name are you doing in my room at five in the morning?" Minato ran to his friend's bed, grabbed him by the wrist, and dragged him out from under his blankets. He checked behind the door, not surprised to find a bullhorn taped to the wall that was exactly level with the doorknob, then pulled Fugaku down the hallway to the stairs.

"We need to get out of here for the next 15 hours." Minato's voice was a harsh whisper in Fugaku's ear.

"What? Why?" They made their way down the steps and to the front door, which they slid to a stop in front of when they noticed the clear tape crisscrossing the foyer. Minato touched the double-sided tape with a finger. "Why is there tape all over my front door?"

"Because she's started! I figured it'd have been sooner than this, but she must have been too excited this past week. God, we need to find another way out of here." Minato dragged Fugaku through the living room, even going so far as to jump the furniture in his way rather than go around it, until Fugaku dug his heels into the carpet just before they'd reached the kitchen.

"What is going on here Minato?" Fugaku tore himself from his psychotic friend's grasp and crossed his arms across his chest. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's Naruto. This happens every year about this time, but I didn't think she'd do it in your home. Someone must have done something to make her mad. They always start off harmless and cute, but by the end of the day, if you're still inside with her, things get dangerous. We need to get out of here now!"

"What is she doing?" Fugaku's eyes darted around the room, Minato's panic slowly starting to seep in.

"My guess would be getting revenge on somebody. In general, having a one-sided prank war with civilian bystanders that she doesn't mind sacrificing for her cause." Minato ran through the kitchen and to the back door, worry and panic starting to overwhelm him when he saw the latch super glued shut.

Fugaku dashed into the room behind Minato, a pair of simple black shoes, Itachi's converse apparently, having been pulled onto his feet in his absence. "Is it that bad?" Minato grabbed a three-legged stool that was sitting in front of an easel in the corner of the sun room and lined himself up with the large window facing the back yard. He spun a few times to build momentum while Fugaku watched his friend in shock. Minato released the stool like a shot-put and sent it flying towards the window, which shattered under impact.

"We have to go now! I'll pay you back for the window later."

"What about my boys?"

"She's less likely to injure them if we leave. Fewer targets means she won't have to pick anybody off. They're safer if we go."

"15 hours?" Minato jumped out of the window and dropped the four feet to the ground, quickly followed by Fugaku, who shivered when the morning air hit his arms and legs that were exposed by his gym shorts and white t-shirt.

"Naruto has always enjoyed pranks, and most of the time, they're in good fun. However, one time a year, she lets out all her anger at one time by trapping several people in a building and unleashing just about every trick she can think of. Last year it was while she was at school, which is why she's being forced to take make-up classes. She ended up being charged with the Principal having to be removed from the faculty bathroom toilet by the workers that came in the ambulance. It gets really bad, and it looks like this year she's doing it at home."

Fugaku looked back up at the window above their heads, his heart nearly stopping when he saw that it had been covered in black gorilla tape, glue leaking through a few small gaps and dripping down to the windowsill. "Dear God." Fugaku took a step back from his home, which had been taken hostage.

"Let's get out of here before she decides she didn't like us leaving." Fugaku was out the gate only seconds behind his blonde friend.

* * *

"Itachi? Dad? Naruto? Minato? Anybody!" Sasuke pulled a pair of jeans on over his boxers and buttoned them as he walked down the hallway to his brother's room.

He'd woken up when what sounded like a bullhorn had gone off from his father's room, but hadn't gotten out of bed until there was an insanely loud crash from downstairs. Sasuke hurried down the dark hallway, shivering when he practically saw his breath misting in front of him. Sasuke rubbed his neck, immediately wishing he'd put a shirt on. He stopped at the thermostat to change the temperature, but paused when the small light that usually glowed to show the temperature on the machine hadn't lit up when had stopped.

"What the crap?" Sasuke ran a finger over the green mess that was dripping from inside the thermostat and gagged when it was squishy and not wet. "Okay, nasty." He wiped his finger on his jeans and hurried around the corner of the hall, pausing at the first door on the left. He knocked and waited for a few minutes before giving up on his brother, who was probably sound asleep, and reached for the door handle. Sasuke jumped away in surprise when the handle was disgustingly slippery and immediately wiped his hand on the back pockets of his pants.

He knelt down in front of the door to inspect it, but immediately wished he hadn't when he discovered the condom that had been placed over it and covered in what smelled like sesame oil.

"What is going on here?" Itachi's door creaked open when Sasuke pushed lightly and he stood quickly. "Itachi? You alright?"

"Yeah, but I need your help." Sasuke pushed the door open, avoiding touching the handle again. Itachi was sitting on his bed, looking to all the world like he was praying, his hands folded on his lap and his head bowed low.

"Are you praying, because I can't really help you if you can't do that right." Sasuke opened one of his brother's drawers and stole a t-shirt with 'Skillet' written across the front in neon green letters.

"Just cut me loose already. I've been stuck like this since I woke up." Sasuke walked a little closer before falling back on his rear when he tried to back away too quickly. Itachi had a plastic tie around his neck, wrists, and thighs that were all attached by one running down the middle, holding him in the somewhat uncomfortable position.

"What the heck did you do, Itachi?"

"How should I know?! Just get my pocket knife out of my pocket and cut me loose." Sasuke shook his head almost violently. "Why not?!" Itachi yelled in frustration and anger.

"I'm not reaching into the pocket of your pants!" Itachi glared at his little brother, quite a few choice words slipping from his lips that Sasuke had no idea were even in his brother's vocabulary.

"Fine then. Get the scissors out of my desk drawer." Sasuke nodded and retrieved the item, only to groan when there was a plastic tie, much like the ones that were wrapped around Itachi holding the two slots at the end together.

"Screw this. Which pocket is your knife in?"

* * *

"Do you have any idea what's going on here?"

"No clue. But it's kind of grossing me out." Itachi and Sasuke were standing in the hall outside of their father's bedroom, the door wide open, and the vent above the door dripping some yellow-colored goo that was leaking slowly to the floor and down the door frame.

"Is that stuff glowing?"Sasuke watched as his brother caught a strand of the snotty substance and rubbed it with his fingers. Itachi nodded his head at his brother's question then backed away from the door. "Whatever. It's probably Dad trying to be a 'fun parent' again. I wonder what kind of method this is supposed to be and what kind of whack job he paid to teach him about it."

"You're probably right." Itachi made his way back to the bathroom beside his room and went immediately for the sink. "I wonder where he went? Minato too." Itachi ran the soap under the water and rubbed it between his hands for a minute, becoming frustrated when it didn't lather. He ran it under the water again with the same results. "What the heck is wrong with this soap?"

Sasuke hovered over his brother's shoulder, trying to see past the waves of black hair. "Let me see it." Itachi handed Sasuke the soap, then pulled his glasses out of the top drawer to his right and slipped them on his nose. "It's got a clear coat of nail polish on it." Sasuke scraped at the bar of Dove with the nail on his index finger until the thick layer of nail polish started to chip away. He tossed the soap into the trash can beside the toilet.

"Wait, how did you know it was nail polish on-" Itachi cut himself off when Sasuke glared at him and averted his eyes. "We look a mess." Itachi pointed at the two of them in the mirror, his face twisting in general disgust at his appearance, while he ruffled his brother's hair, which was flat. "You mind if I take a shower?" Sasuke smacked Itachi's hand off of his head.

"Nah, I'm going to run downstairs and get ready. Be careful though, I bet there's a few more things laying around here. Maybe we should find Naruto?"

"I'll check her room once I'm out. She's probably watching television or sleeping." Itachi pulled his shirt off over his head and shut the door behind his little brother. He faced the mirror above the sink and grimaced. His hair was mussed up and hanging down around his shoulders, his thin-rimmed metal glasses added several years to his face, and he hadn't shaved in three days. "God it sucks being 18." He flexed his biceps a bit while he waited for the water to heat up.

"Nah, the rugged look isn't for me, but that body building course I took with Dad at the station really paid off."

* * *

Sasuke hurried down the hall to his room to collect a few things, freezing in his tracks when he had opened his door. He fell to his knees and swore so loudly that he heard Itachi drop something in the bathroom in surprise. Sasuke crawled backwards from his room, pulling the door shut with his foot.

"Oh my God!" Sasuke curled his knees up to his chin and held them tightly to his chest, staring wide-eyed in fear. He clutched his head tightly and tried to calm his breathing.

"Sasuke? You alright?" Itachi crouched down beside his brother, a towel hanging around his neck, his hair pulled back in a damp ponytail at the base of his neck. Sasuke shook his head and pointed a single shaking finger at his bedroom door. "What? Is there something in there?" Sasuke shook his head again and scooted another few inches away from the door. "Sasuke, quit being such a baby. It's probably just another lame prank."

"It may be, but it scared the living crap out of me!" Sasuke stood using the wall as a support. "Would you mind getting a few things for me? There is no way I'm setting foot in there."

Itachi sighed but nodded his head, pushed his glasses up on his nose, and made a mental list of the things Sasuke wanted. "Alright, since my little brother is too afraid to go into his room, I'll be brave and get your stuff for you." Itachi opened the door slowly, and his jaw dropped, the beginnings of a stress twitch starting in his left eye. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I told you it was terrifying. Now go get my stuff so I can fix my hair. It's driving me crazy." Sasuke tucked his bangs behind his ears and pushed Itachi into the room.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going in there!" Itachi forced his way back out of the room and hid behind his brother. "Don't you hear the radio? It's playing his freaking music! It makes me wish I was deaf instead of blind."

"I've got an idea, but it's pretty risky." Sasuke looked his brother in the eye.

"Let's do it."

. . . . .

"Can we come in for a minute?" Naruto opened her door a bit wider and ushered the two boys in, both of which seemed unwilling to be in her room. She clicked the television off as she passed by it on her way to her desk. She waited until they had both made themselves comfortable on her bed before she wheeled her desk chair up in front of them and slung herself into the seat.

"So what's up guys? You look nervous." Naruto crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair.

"We, uh, we need you to do something for us." Itachi elbowed Sasuke in the ribs. "Little brother here has a few of his manly products he needs from his room, but because of something we think Dad did, he's too afraid to go inside. He was wondering if you'd be willing to help."

"Really? Sasuke needs my help?" Naruto leaned forward in her chair and took Sasuke's hands in her own. Sasuke pulled his hands from her and wiped them on his borrowed shirt.

"Will you get the stuff or not?"

"Of course. But, um... One question." Sasuke immediately felt relieved that he wouldn't have to face the horrors in his bedroom again.

"What?"

"Why won't you go in your room?" Itachi and Sasuke looked at each other nervously.

"Someone redecorated it a bit." Itachi finally answered the question after losing the staring contest with Sasuke. Naruto just looked at the two of them in disbelief.

. . . . .

"You're afraid of this?" Naruto pushed the door open further and stepped into the room. There were Big Time Rush posters covering just about every available spot on the wall beside Sasuke's bed, and even a few One Direction posters on the ceiling above it. A Barbie pink radio was blasting out "Baby" by Justin Bieber at full volume, and after it had ended went straight on to another one of his hits that Naruto didn't quite recognize. Sasuke's normally navy and white sheets had suddenly become a gaudy pink, the sheets under the comforter a slightly darker pink that had a red tint in the hue. A large rug covered almost three quarters of the floor space, and the second she saw it, she instantly felt like eating some lifesavers. She walked over to the window and fingered the pink velvet curtains, her nose scrunching up at the excess amount of flowery-smelling perfume that had been sprayed all over the room.

"I mean, sure, it's ugly, but it isn't that bad. I knew a few girls that actually liked their room looking like this." Naruto turned back to look at the two young men that were practically growling at the offensive room from the doorway. "My heroes." Naruto rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed, sinking in a good few inches. "Okay, so now that I've braved the danger of Sasuke's room, what exactly do I need to get from in here?"

"There's a bag under the dresser to the right of the bed. Just grab it. It's got all of my bathroom stuff in there. And get a pair of clothing from the closet, anything will work really."

"Oh, but Sasuke, you could just wear the clothing of yours I've got in my room." Naruto pointed to the t-shirt that was hanging down to just above her knees, which was his, her shorts just peeking out from under it.

"How did you-"

"Does it really matter Sasuke? Just let her get your stuff and get out of there. I'm starving and knowing her, she won't let us eat until you're ready. So hurry it up you two. I'm going to wait in Naruto's room."

"He's got a point Sasuke." Naruto clicked the light off in the room and shut it behind her. She handed Sasuke the bag and walked down the hall about twenty feet to her room. "Hurry and get ready." She disappeared inside with a smile.

"Tch. Whatever." Sasuke hurried down to the vacant bathroom, bag slung over his shoulder.

* * *

"Thanks Itachi, you've been a great help." Naruto disappeared inside her closet for a moment, her voice drifting out of the open door.

"Those ties really chafed you know. You could've warned me you were going to tie me up in my sleep. I'd have gone along with it." Itachi rubbed the slightly red mark around his wrist.

"Sorry about that 'Tachi. How can I make it up to you?" Naruto walked out of the closet and kicked the door shut behind her. She tossed the young man one of Sasuke's shirts that had gotten mixed up with hers in the laundry. He caught it in one hand, and pulled his glasses off his nose with the other.

"Well, you can walk around like that for a day." Naruto blushed when she realized Itachi was raking his eyes up and down her body, and she quickly tugged her tank top on over her exposed skin and white push up bra. She hurried over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of black shorts that Itachi thought looked way too short for her, but wasn't about to suggest she alter her choice of attire.

"Sorry, but not happening." She shimmied into the shorts and shoved her arms into the sleeves of an orange flannel button up. She buttoned the middle button then laced a pair of black knee-high All Star converse onto her feet.

"Oh well, thanks for the show then. So, what else do you need me to do?" Itachi crossed the room and dropped the towel around his neck into the laundry basket beside the closet door after wiping the last few drops of water from his chest and arms.

"You're doing it." Naruto laughed when Itachi's face turned red before disappearing inside the gray v-neck she'd given him. "On the other hand, just play along. I only have a few more things planned."

"By the way, you really are as good as you said you are. How did you manage to change the entire decor of Sasuke's room in less than 15 minutes? And where the heck did you get the perfume? Crap reeked." Itachi watched Naruto as she cleaned up a few papers that were spread across the floor beside the dresser. She stacked them together and put them on the dresser before rummaging around on the surface for two bottles of perfume, which she handed over her shoulder to Itachi.

"I mixed a few together that I found in your Dad's room in a box of confiscated stuff." Naruto dug an orange bottle out of her sock drawer and showed it to Itachi. "This is mine. My mom always wore this when she and Dad would go to an event." Itachi placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "You know Itachi, you're really tall."

Itachi snickered behind his hand. "I just think you're really short."

"I'm not that short!" She stuck her tongue out at the reflection in the mirror in front of her. "I'm 5'4". That's above average height for a girl."

"I'm only six feet tall." Itachi wrapped his arms around her neck, his elbows wresting on her shoulders and his chin resting on top of her messy blonde hair.

"And that's tall you dope. Hey, do me a favor?" She handed Itachi a rubber band over her shoulder and tossed all of her hair over her shoulders. Itachi sighed, but she ignored the disapproving look his reflection revealed. "Thanks 'Tachi! At least you know how to do it."

"Yeah, yeah." Itachi pulled her hair back into a ponytail and tied it up, undid it, and redid it more neatly a second time. "You've got way too much-" Naruto sprayed a small amount of perfume onto her wrist and rubbed it in, then dabbed a bit at her neck and chest, and Itachi had to fight back the urge to to bury his face in the crook of her neck.

'Does she have any idea how much of a turn on that smell is? It's like an aphrodisiac.' Itachi breathed in a bit deeper and moved a few inches closer to her subconsciously, his chest brushing against her back.

"You okay Itachi?" Naruto looked up at him over her shoulder and Itachi swallowed, trying to force the raw lust from his eyes.

"Y-yeah." Itachi inwardly smacked himself when his voice cracked. "I'm fine."

"Well, alright then. I have a few things I need to do, so I'll leave you alone for a minute to take care of your problem. Tissues are on the desk." Naruto hurried out of the room and shut the door behind her. Itachi chanced a look down and groaned before heading for the desk, pausing just for a moment to reach into the sock drawer and pocket one of the multiple orange bottles inside.

. . . . .

"Oi, Itachi. Do you have some hair gel and deodorant I can borrow? There's rotten mayonnaise in my roll on and when I opened the lid on my gel there was glue stirred into it." Sasuke opened the door to Naruto's room and stopped in his tracks, hand still frozen where it had been rummaging around inside of his bag. "Ew God, Itachi! In Naruto's room?"

Sasuke dropped his bag and covered his eyes, doing his best to not claw his eyes out. "I will never be able to unsee that!"

"Shut up! It's not like you've never done it." Itachi smacked Sasuke upside the head on his way to the trashcan.

"And you even threw that mess away in the trashcan in her room." Sasuke ducked when Itachi swung to smack him again and caught his brother's wrist.

"Give it a rest. Naruto said she went to go find you since you were taking a while. Where is she?" The two young men went into Itachi's room, where, after a few minutes, Itachi dug a spare package of deodorant out of a bin under his bed. "Sorry, no gel though." He tugged on his ponytail. "I don't use it."

"You need a haircut man. You look like a girl." Sasuke used the deodorant then threw it on the bed.

"No way, our hair is the only way people can tell us apart, except for the fact that I'm better looking, older, and more muscular."

"Humble too, idiot. Come on, I smell food." Sasuke spit in his hands and spiked the back of his hair up the best he could.

"You're in a surprisingly good mood this morning despite everything that's been set up against you. Are you ill?" Sasuke rolled his eyes before sliding down the banister on the stairs to the landing of the second floor, Itachi sliding down behind him a moment after.

"No, I'm in a good mood because Naruto didn't come to my room last night for the first time in the past week." Itachi jumped the bottom three steps, the rubber soles of his boots squeaking on the tile floor. Sasuke walked down the steps, buttoning up his black satin over shirt as he came.

"She was in my room last night. She felt like talking, so I ended up learning everything about how a woman's period sucks."

Sasuke put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry man."

"Nah, she kissed me goodnight out of compensation, so we're all good. What-" Itachi rounded the corner into the foyer and stopped. "Oh my God."

"What are you- Dear Lord." Sasuke stuck his hand out and touched the tape that crisscrossed the entryway and frowned when his hand stuck to it. "Why is the door taped shut?"

"I don't know." Itachi's voice was a whisper, low and serious. 'What's going on here? She didn't tell me about this.' He spun around and hurried through the living room to the kitchen. The smell of food lingered in the air, but there was nothing out of place in the kitchen. "Sasuke, check the back door!" Itachi felt the rush of air as Sasuke ran past him, but he didn't linger in the spot long afterwards.

"No good Itachi. It's worse than the front door. It looks like somebody smashed the window." Itachi swore and pushed his glasses up his nose before digging through the cabinets in the kitchen. "Itachi, what is going on?! You're panicking. You know something, don't you!" Sasuke grabbed his brother by the collar of his shirt and brought him down to eye level.

"I knew about the small things. Like the vent is broken glow sticks, the thermostat is a cornstarch and water mixture dyed green, and I was the one to put glue in your gel, which was very fun by the way. I was kind of hoping you'd use it and be forced to cut your hair to get it out. However, I know absolutely nothing about being trapped inside the house."

"So this is Naruto's doing, isn't it." Itachi pushed Sasuke off of him and turned to the refrigerator. Itachi nodded his head and opened the door to the fridge. "Well, then where is she?"

Itachi pointed in the refrigerator, backing up slowly. Sasuke pulled the door open just as Itachi rushed to the trashcan and lost what little food there was in his stomach. The inside of the fridge was splattered with something that smelled worse than the dumpster in the alley behind their house. Red dripped down the shelves, which were broken down the middle and cracked in a few places. Rotten food was settled in the bottom of the fridge and flies were swarming around the pool of fluids that were mixing together and spilling over onto the tile floor of the kitchen.

Sasuke pinched his nose and swallowed the bile in his throat, dragging Itachi, who still looked quite green in the face, from the room and back through the living room. "You're sure you don't know anything about this?" Sasuke swung his arm around the room, which, just moments ago had been spotless, but now seemed as if a horde of elephants had stormed through and upturned all of the furniture. Itachi shook his head, his hand covering his mouth as he tried not to throw up again.

"G-garage. We might be able to get out through the garage." Sasuke nodded with a grunt and peeked around the corner and into the corridor; all of the lights had been shattered. Glass littered the wooden floor, and Sasuke was glad he had worn thick-soled boots.

"Come on, it's clear. Be careful of the glass." The two of them crept down the hallway towards the back of the house.

"No way." Itachi ran his hand over the edge of the banister and cringed when he was electrocuted. "She wired this. It's like the ultimate hand buzzer." There was a loud bang from the hall behind them in the way they'd come from, and it was soon followed shortly by another that rang in the enclosed space. A light above their head sparked as two wires crossed each other and winked out again seconds later. Another bang echoed down the hall, louder this time.

"Is that a gun? Does she have a gun?" Sasuke was panicking. "This is going too far. We need to call the cops and get out of here. She's out of her mind!"

"Let's go." Itachi grabbed his brother's hand and ran down the hall and turned the corner, Sasuke passing him and running on ahead a few steps. Itachi was suddenly pulled out of the corridor by a thin pair of arms circling around his waist and dragging him to the ground in a bathroom on the left of the new hallway. The door locked behind him in the dark and the arms around his waist slackened their hold on him. Itachi's heavy breathing was the only sound in the room.

He felt a pair of lips on the shell of his ear, and he involuntarily shivered. "Scream for me, Itachi." Itachi screamed.

. . . . .

"Itachi!" Sasuke ran back the way he'd come, towards the booming sound that had become a fast rhythm, almost like a drum, but much deeper in tone and louder than any drum he'd ever heard. Sasuke covered his ears as he ran, yelling for Itachi the entire time until he heard Itachi scream in what sounded like agony. Sasuke fell to his knees on sensory overload. He scrambled to his feet and ran down the hall on his right and sprinted for the closet at the end of the hallway. He threw the door open and rushed inside, locking the door behind him and falling down to his rear, scooting back until he'd reached the wall.

Sasuke felt tears run down his cheeks and didn't bother to wipe them away as he tried his hardest to calm the beating of his heart. The booming sound had quieted, but the sound of his brother screaming in pain echoed in his mind. He rocked back and forth on his haunches, his shoes squeaking on the tile of the 10' by 10' room. The air smelled strongly of bleach, and Sasuke knew he couldn't stay long unless he fancied passing out while in this situation.

. . . . .

"So, is he scared yet?" Naruto flicked the light in the bathroom on and leaned back against the door to stare at Itachi who was sprawled out on the tile, his head flopped back on the edge of the tub. He had yet to catch his breath.

"Is HE scared? You scared the living-"

"Itachi, mind your language. You're in the presence of a lady after all."

"You didn't even let me finish!" Itachi looked up at her. "Anyway, you scared ME, and I was in on most of it!"

"Scaring is my specialty. I saw you throw up by the way. Very convincing. Hey, help me with something real quick. I need a boost." Itachi got down on his knees and waited while Naruto climbed onto his shoulders before standing and, under her direction, led her until she was level with the vent.

_"Run."_ Naruto lowered her voice, her tone humorous and playful. She giggled lightly, and Itachi closed his eyes, imagining her sitting in his bed with him as she had last night, giggling to one of his very flat jokes. It scared him how sadistic she could be. She laughed into the vent, repeating her message over and over again, her voice slow and torturous. Itachi heard Sasuke yell through the vent, and he felt his heart stab in guilt at scaring his little brother so badly.

Naruto laughed to herself. 'That'll teach him to tell me I'm not even worth considering.'

_~Flashback~_

_"Sasuke, I need your assistance with a few things. The Uchiha family has been asked by the city to fund a film that is being made here in town, and I've been told to get you to play one of the lead roles. I need someone your age to help me work on the script. I'm not exactly fond of how some of the parts work out or end, and I want your opinion on what I should do to improve it." Fugaku handed his youngest son the thick package of papers and sat him down in the chair across from his desk._

_"What kind of film is it?" Sasuke read through the summary of the character he was to play and groaned; he was expected to have a love interest._

_"A sort of horror film I suppose, but I feel like there isn't enough there for me to consider putting the amount they expect into the funding. Do you think you and Naruto would look over it for me and work out the kinks?"_

_Sasuke glared at his father. "There's no way I'm asking that airhead for help with a horror film. She can't even sit in a room by herself for fifteen minutes without bursting into tears. It wouldn't even be worth it to mention it to that idiot."_

_Fugaku returned his son's glare tenfold. "I understand that you don't like her, but there is no reason to disrespect that sweet young girl. You will show it to her and ask for her opinion. She's expected to play a role too, so I want her input on it."_

_"I understand, but there's no way I'm asking her for help. I'll fix this mess myself." Sasuke pushed his chair back and left his father's office before Fugaku could insist otherwise. _

_Naruto stepped into the room from the hall outside the door, her brow furrowed, her bangs hiding the fiery expression in her eyes. "I'll convince him otherwise Mr. Uchiha. Just you wait."_

_~End Flashback~ _

Sasuke ran up the stairs, getting a small shock every time his feet touched down on the statically charged carpet that jolted up through his entire body, leaving his fingertips buzzing once he'd reached the top. He dashed for the end of the corridor and slipped on the polished floor in front of his father's bedroom. He scrambled to his feet and headed for his room, passing Itachi's room on his way.

The sound of his footsteps echoed in the silence of the hallway, and that's when Sasuke realized something; it was quiet. The laughing that seemed to follow him every where had ceased once he'd reached the landing on the third floor stairs and the boom from the living room hadn't gone off since he'd lost Itachi. It was quiet.

Sasuke slowed his pace and crept cautiously around the final turn to his room. He'd rather brave the teenage girl's dream room than stay out here. He could use his cell phone and call for help, or at the very least wait until his father got home.

Sasuke heard a clicking sound, almost like a seat belt being unbuckled, and he looked behind him to the empty hall, scanning down both ways. _Click... Click... Click..._

Sasuke ran, and the clicking sound picked up along with him until he suddenly found himself face first on the ground, just a few feet from his room, and something sitting on his back laughing in the most bone chilling feminine voice he'd ever heard. Sasuke screamed bloody murder. He thrashed around until his hands were handcuffed behind his back and he was flipped over onto his back. Naruto was smiling. The first thing he noticed was that there was a harness around her torso and that it was attached by a bungee cord to the ceiling, which had what appeared to be a zip line running the length of the hall.

"What-What the-" Sasuke was panting for breath, his eyes darting between the girl sitting on his stomach and all of the trick wires that were being revealed as the lights slowly clicked on. Naruto leaned down to his face, and for a moment, he thought she was going to kiss him, but she turned at the last moment and lowered her lips to his ear.

"I'm better than you thought, huh, Sasuke?" And she left him there, sprawled on his back as Minato and Fugaku came out of the guest bedroom down the hall, and Itachi's laughter drifted through the air from the stairwell as he dismantled the wires charging them.

"She got you good my boy." Minato laughed loudly as he took a key to the handcuffs binding Sasuke.

"Now, about that script Sasuke." Sasuke's head flopped back, ignoring his father's jab at his pride as he watched Naruto blow him a kiss and then disappear inside of her room, the door shutting quietly behind her.

* * *

Naruto sat up in bed and checked the clock on her night stand. "Come in." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat back against her pillows, her comforter clutched to her chest. The door creaked open, and in the moonlight that leaked through the sheer curtains, she immediately recognized the male face staring at her from across the room.

"What is it Sasuke?" Sasuke walked across the room and stood beside her bed. "It's only 10:30. I was planning on coming in later. I've actually been trying to stay in my own bed since you told me you didn't like me being there every night." There was a moment of awkward silence before Sasuke cleared his throat quietly.

"Can-Can I sleep with you?" Naruto's jaw dropped at the comment that had been made in such a strong monotone, despite the stutter at the beginning.

"S-sure Sasuke, but why?" Naruto cleared a space for him under her covers and waited until he'd settled in next to her before she asked her question again.

"Because my room is cold, okay?" His tone was harsh, but she sensed the underlying meaning. Sasuke was afraid. Naruto smiled and lay down, her arms open as she waited for Sasuke to lay down beside her, his head buried in the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled when he did the same and breathed a deep sigh of relief, his muscles relaxing instantly. She petted his head, gently running her fingers through his soft hair, and Sasuke was out in seconds.

"I guess I scared you too bad Sasu. Don't underestimate me next time." Sasuke grunted what sounded vaguely like a 'hn' in his sleep, and Naruto's last thought before she slipped into her own dream world, was that Sasuke was much more honest when he was asleep than when he was awake.

. . . . .

End Chapter 5.

* * *

1. I'm not too sure I like this chapter all that much, but I do like how it's opening up to a few new things in the future.

2. So, Sasuke dissed her one too many times, and she wanted retaliation. In the end, she made Sasuke realize that he actually did need her. She just did it by scaring the living crap out of him with the help of his loved ones.

3. To explain the beginning where Minato was freaking out, there was a note in the fridge explaining things to him and to get himself and Fugaku out of the house while she worked her magic. Neither of them were in on anything, they just came back after a while.

4. I'm going to explain how most of the stuff in the prank worked in the next chapter, so if you think you can take a guess at some of them, feel free. If you're right, you'll get a mention next chapter ;)

R & R for AMB11! Thanks y'all!


	6. Make A Gang Hate You, Great Plan

Okay, so I've been getting some requests for Itachi to get his big moment, so, without further ado, welcome the Akatsuki to the story! Keep an eye out for some pointless ItaNaru lovin' in the future, but it's all in good humor, because this is and will stay a SasuNaru fic all the way through!

Does the Akatsuki remind anybody else of That 70's Show in some weird way? No? Just me? Oh well. They seem like they'd be THAT group of friends, right?

Okay, so this chapter will sort of be in two parts, but it'll still be two separate chapters... That's confusing. Chapter 7 will be a continuation of what happened in this chapter. They will be connected! No time skip... Yeah, okay. That makes more sense I guess.

**Disclaimer: **

Itachi: Alright Deidara. You need to tell everybody what you want to say.

Deidara: I'm not gay, un.

Itachi: No, you idiot, not that! Say that thing that everybody needs to know.

Deidara: I'm a man.

Itachi: Well, at least that clears that up, but that still isn't right.

Deidara: My art is the best, yeah.

Sasori: *smack* Idiot. AMB11 doesn't own Naruto.

Itachi: Finally! I can leave now, right? Somebody, please untie me!

Author: NO! You didn't get Deidara to say it yet.

Deidara: *Snickers loudly*

Itachi: You jerk.

* * *

Chapter 6: Make A Gang Hate You, Great Plan

"Woah, you're seriously Japanese?" Naruto turned sideways in her chair and slid the books off of her desk and onto her lap. She flicked her paper football across the aisle and laughed when it missed it's target and hit Kiba instead when Sasuke ducked. "I mean, you kind of look Asian, but it isn't very dominant in your appearance." Sasuke leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on his desk.

"No, actually my mother was, but my father is from Chicago." Sasuke slung his book bag over his shoulder just as the bell rang. It was a mad race to the door, the girls instantly flocking to their cliques and the guys becoming joined at the hip and shoulder as they tried to force their way through the door all at the same time. The classroom was empty in seconds aside from the two of them, Kakashi even going so far as to toss Sasuke the room key before being one of the first ones out of the room.

"So, do you speak Japanese?" Naruto took the key from Sasuke's hand and locked the windows that looked out over the courtyard of the school, Sasuke weaving through the desks beside her lazily. The sun was directly overhead, casting shadows on the students crossing the campus to the gates. Naruto turned the key in the lock of the window beside the door and listened to the click in the stillness of the calm afternoon, the wind whistling quietly on the other side of the glass.

"Eh, not really. I used to understand it pretty well since Mikoto was always yelling at Itachi and me in it, but it's been several years, so I doubt I'd pick up on much." Naruto swallowed her question about Sasuke referring to his mother as 'Mikoto' and ambled out of the classroom to join Sasuke in the hall, locking the door to the dim room behind her. "Do you think Kakashi trusts us with this, or do you think he really didn't care if we stole anything?" Her companion asked blandly.

Sasuke held his hand out and Naruto placed the key ring in the open palm of his hand, tan fingertips brushing against warm, pale skin. Sasuke swallowed when his heart jumped into his throat and squashed the desire to pound his hand against his chest to keep from choking while Naruto continued on a few steps ahead of him, giggling quietly to herself. "Oh come on, be nice to Mr. Hatake. He may be annoying, but he likes you."

"Because he's a perverted old man." The rubber soles of Sasuke's shoes squeaked on the tile floor of the school hallway, his soft and steady footsteps muffled by Naruto as she skipped beside him. Naruto smacked Sasuke lightly on his shoulder and smiled when he feigned pain.

"So you said something earlier about Itachi walking home with us today right?"

"Mmm. He's meeting us by the gate, but he may be driving. His car got out of the shop this morning." Naruto slid down the banister while Sasuke tried to keep up with her on the stairs.

"If he's driving, I'm walking. I get carsick really easily." Naruto tapped on the lockers with her knuckles, occasionally kicking an unused one shut with the heel of her loafer.

"You too? I have problems on long trips. That's why I don't drive cars. There's just something about being closed inside of a moving vehicle that makes me ill." Sasuke hung Kakashi's key on the board outside the front office as they passed by.

"I used to drive dirt bike's when I was in junior high." Naruto winked at Sasuke and laughed at his blank expression.

"Seriously? I'd have thought you'd be the one modeling them on posters." Naruto slapped Sasuke's bicep and stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "Kidding, I'm kidding. I'm not going to make that mistake again." Sasuke shivered when a phantom shock ran up his spine and cringed when Naruto laughed in imitation of the way she had during her prank two weeks ago. "That was just mean."

"So is calling me a hooker, idiot." Naruto dropped her voice and did her best to keep a blank expression on her face, straightening her spine and slinging her bag over her shoulder, mocking Sasuke, who just stuck his tongue out at her childishly. "Watch that thing, I bite." Naruto put her hands on her waist as she walked, strutting ahead of her companion, missing when Sasuke didn't hesitate to pull his tongue back into his mouth, blushing under the hand he had clamped over his mouth.

There was a comfortable silence as the pair crossed the courtyard, walking in the shade of the trees beside the metal fence on the edge of the property, skirting the sprinklers that were trying their hardest to keep the grass wet in the stifling summer heat. Sasuke loosened his tie and undid a few of the buttons on his shirt.

"Hey Sasuke." She sounded like she wanted to laugh, so Sasuke stopped walking and stood in one of the rapidly evaporating puddles on the sidewalk.

"Mmm?"

"You look a mess. You're tie isn't done right and you have four buttons undone instead of two." Sasuke glared at the blonde beside him and tugged on one of her low-hanging pigtails. Naruto jabbed Sasuke in the ribs with her finger, a sly smirk gracing her face when he squirmed away from the touch instantly. "Are you ticklish, Sasuke?"

"No, don't be ridiculous, idiot." Sasuke slapped her hands away when she tried to tickle him again. "Stop that! Oh, Naruto, did you finish reading over the copy of your script my father gave you?"

"Yeah, I read through it. It's not bad, but Mr. Uchiha was right; it needs work. I edited a few things, so we can go over it when we get home if you want." Sasuke nodded and kicked the heel of his right shoe with his left in a rare moment of feeling fidgety. The pair stopped at the gates, waiting in the shade of one tree while they waited for Itachi.

"So, you said you used to know just a little bit of Japanese, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Sasuke leaned back against the brick wall and threw his arm over his eyes.

"A person uses different honorifics when they talk to different people, right?" Sasuke nodded to the girl and blinked blearily. "Which one would I use when speaking to you?" Sasuke's lips parted slowly while he watched Naruto drop her bag to the ground and flip one of her pigtails over her shoulder before locking gazes with him. He ran a hand up and down his arm absentmindedly while he thought about it.

"Well, there are different honorifics for certain people. As an example, a teacher, like Kakashi, would be called sensei. You would call my father Uchiha-san because you want to show him respect."

"So I'd call you Uchiha-san too?"

"Well..." Sasuke closed his eyes and scrunched his nose in thought. 'Would she? It's not like we're friends, but we don't hate each other, and I guess we have a mutual respect.' His brother's scream of pain echoed in his ears again. 'Well, I respect her at least. And she does say she loves me all the time. I guess it'd make sense...'

"Actually, you'd call me Sasu-" A black Vanquish Volante roared up next to the school, the radio pouring out of the open window, dust billowing behind it as the vehicle came to an immediate stop at the curb. The engine of a Harley Davidson XL Sportster could be heard coming over the hill before the bike screeched to a stop beside the sports car, a personalized Fatboy tailing shortly behind it.

"That's Itachi's car, but who's the blondie driving it and the biker gang?" Sasuke suddenly grabbed onto the crook of Naruto's elbow and started dragging her down the street.

"Don't look. They might leave us alone."

"Hey, Itachi! Your kid brother is trying to leave with some hot chick. I thought we were giving the punk a ride!" The two bikers pulled their helmets off and made their way over to where Sasuke was seething and Naruto was trying to spot Itachi through the tinted windshield. The shorter of the two bikers slung his arm around Naruto's shoulder, and she instantly felt squished between his muscled biceps and his barrel-chest. He shoved his helmet into her hands to free his own.

"Oof!" Naruto tried to pry herself away from her silver-haired prison, but the muscle-head held her tightly to him. "Sa-su-ke..." She gasped out while looking for the young man that had accompanied her thus far, only to see a man even bigger than the giant holding her dragging a kicking Sasuke down the sidewalk to the car by his ankle.

"Hey, Deidara, I didn't know you had a twin sister. She's just as pretty as you are." Sasuke's captor pointed over his shoulder at Naruto, who watched as an enraged young man with long blonde hair climbed out of the driver's seat of Itachi's car and started yelling at the mammoth of a man. The giant just pushed the shorter man away with one hand, laughing hysterically the entire time.

Itachi got out of the passenger seat of the vehicle and pried Naruto away from her captivity, eventually kicking the man in an attempt to get him to let go. Naruto hugged Itachi around the waist while he stood, awkwardly, waiting for her to release him.

"Naruto, these are my friends. Come on out guys, you said you wanted to pee in the fountain while we're here anyway." Five young men piled out of the car and crowded onto the sidewalk. "Alright, before you go and vandalize the high school," He turned to face the two cyclists with a mild glare, "I'd like to introduce my girlfriend, Naruto."

"Girlfriend?!" Naruto whipped her head around to look at Sasuke, who had finally gotten away from the man with spiky blue hair, when he threw his shoe at Itachi. Itachi rubbed the spot on his arm and threw the projectile back at his brother, frowning when it hit the hood of his car.

"I'm joking, foolish little brother." Itachi took a step away from Naruto and gestured to each one in turn as he called off their names.

"This is Kisame." The blue-haired young man with narrow eyes waved his hand and grinned widely at Naruto, who returned the wave awkwardly, before pushing Sasuke down onto the hood of the car and sitting back on the poor younger man, who gasped when the air was knocked from his lungs.

"Sasori and Deidara." Itachi gestured to the red-head and blonde arguing beside the gate.

"Oi, don't introduce us together, yeah!" The blonde was smacked over the head by the very short red-head before he approached her and got down on one knee. He took her hand and kissed it lightly before smiling up at her with a crooked grin that Naruto instantly loved. The moment was ruined when he was tackled to the ground by a dark-haired man with what looked like orange sharpie all over his face.

"That's my cousin, Obito, but we all just call him Tobi." Itachi nudged Tobi with his boot, frantically swinging his leg when Tobi suddenly latched onto his pants' leg.

"He actually just climbed into the car right as we drove off. We're not exactly sure why he's here." Kisame grunted when Sasuke rolled out from under him and the back of his knees hit the fender of the car.

"You've met Hidan." Itachi turned Naruto around by her shoulders to face the tall man with slicked back silver hair, who was bent over nursing the forming bruise on his shin where Itachi had kicked him.

"And finally there's Kakuzu... Where is he?"

"How the f-"

_Smack! _

"-udge should we know?" Hidan put Deidara in a headlock, and the blonde immediately started squirming and screaming for help, regretting the slap already.

"He went through the school gate a while back. Said something about finding the cash register in the cafeteria." Deidara squeaked out, gulping down air while trying to escape from Hidan.

Naruto slipped away from Itachi and the group of ruffians that had accompanied the stoic and reserved individual and ducked down behind the expensive sports car, spotting Sasuke huddled down on the other end. She crawled over to him, ignoring the rowdy group of men on the other side of the vehicle.

"You okay?" Sasuke nodded.

"My ribs kind of hurt. Kisame weighs more than the car." He nudged the tire with his elbow before peeking around the bender. A sly smirk crept its way onto his face. "You said you could drive a bike, right?"

"Yeah, I used to race all the time in my old neighborhood." Sasuke took her by the wrist and crawled over to Hidan's motorcycle. Naruto ran a hand over the sleek, blood-red paint job on the Harley Fatboy and grinned crookedly. "Oh yeah. I can drive this." She pulled the helmet in her hands over her head, slid the visor down and hurriedly climbed on the bike, Sasuke fitting into the seat behind her.

Naruto kicked up the stand and turned the key in the ignition, purring herself when the engine roared to life. She revved the engine, the back tire spewing rubble as the bike took off, Naruto steering expertly around Itachi's car and down the street in a hurry, ignoring the shouts coming from the group of men breathing her dust. Sasuke wrapped his arms around the girl and ducked down behind her shoulder to keep the wind out of his face.

"You're f-"

_Smack!_

"-lubbing little ducka-"

_Smack!_

"-shtray brother just stole my mother-

_Smack! _

"s' motorcyle!" There was an awkward silence as all of the college students stared after the two teenagers that had just stolen the custom bike, before Kisame fixed Hidan and Kakuzu with a questioning glance.

"Why is he hitting you?" Deidara was the first to crack into a grin.

"Potty Mouth's old man is paying Kakuzu minimum wage to get Hidan to stop cursing. Apparently anger management classes weren't enough. He said to use whatever method, and it seems to be working. None of us have any complaints." Deidara reached his hand above his head and placed it on Kisame's shoulder.

"Nah, I think we're all good." Kisame grinned, his teeth sharpened to slight points.

"Tobi is good!" Tobi walked through the gate of the school and sat down on the sidewalk, water dripping down from his clothes into a puddle.

Itachi crouched down beside his cousin and pinched the sleeve of Tobi's jacket. "Why are you wet Tobi?"

"Tobi is wet because Sasori-sempai threw Tobi in the fountain for peeing in it like Itachi-nii said to." Itachi grabbed his cousin's shoulder and helped him stand. He pushed the foreigner to Kisame, who cringed when the sopping wet man flopped on him clumsily.

"There is no way I'm letting him ride in my car like that. He and Hidan will have to change places since my brother and Naruto stole his bike." Itachi climbed into the drivers seat of his car and slammed the door shut, turning the volume on the radio down before he'd even put the key in the ignition. Kisame swung himself and Tobi onto his Sportster and kicked the stand up.

"Come on Itachi, you said I could drive, yeah!" Deidara raced into the passenger seat, Hidan climbing in behind him grumpily, kicking the back of the seat with his boot. Sasori glared at Hidan from outside the window, silently telling the albino man to scoot over, to which he was silently told to 'buzz off'. Kakuzu slid into the middle seat with an exasperated sigh, and Sasori walked around the back of the car to fill in the newly vacated seat, handing Kakuzu a ten dollar bill as a token of gratitude.

"You did drive. On the way here." He glared at the blonde, who shrunk back in his seat a bit. "Never again."

Itachi pulled his glasses out of the glove compartment, ignoring the giggles coming from the blonde on his right, and started the engine, taking off after Kisame had swerved into the road in front of them. Hidan slammed his fist into the head rest of Deidara's seat and leaned forward, his head in between the two front chairs.

"Let's go get my motorcycle back so I can kill those-"

_Smack! _

"Ow! I didn't even say anything Kakuzu!"

"Does it matter? I'm still getting paid."

* * *

"That felt great! I haven't driven a bike in-who's that guy?" Naruto tucked the helmet under the arm that she wasn't using to point at the pale young man with black hair that was streaked green sitting on the porch steps. He looked up at her with heavily made up eyes, which were the most stunning shade of green she'd ever seen, and fiddled with the black skinny tie that was hanging down over his black and yellow graphic tee, before returning his gaze to the hole he was burning in the sidewalk.

"That's Zetsu. Just pretend you don't see him, but if he talks to you, keep it short. He's pretty cool compared to the others, but if you irritate him, he'll go a bit crazy." Sasuke ushered Naruto past Zetsu and into the house, breathing a huge sigh of relief once the door had shut.

"Those are the people your brother hangs out with? But Itachi is quiet and nice and friendly, and those guys are kind of... brutish." Sasuke brushed past her to the stairwell on the left of the foyer and hurried up the steps.

"Yeah, well. You've seen who I hang around. Kiba and Shikamaru are nothing like me, but they are good company. Then I'm stuck with you as well. Itachi's told me before that he likes the idiots because they make him feel tough and that they're interesting to be around. Someone's always getting hurt. Come on, we have a script to read." Naruto followed Sasuke up the stairs, branching away from him to go into her room to get her revised edition of the movie script before heading back out into the hall. She flipped through the first few pages of the script, looking for the beginning of the pen marks when she bumped into someone so hard that she fell to the ground with an indignant squeak.

"I don't appreciate you takin' my bike, little girl." Hidan dragged Naruto up to her feet by the collar of her uniform and held her in place with one hand. "We're gonna play a game."

"I'm so proud, you didn't curse Hidan. Doesn't it feel good, little buddy?!" Naruto fell back to the ground when Hidan was suddenly pulled away from her by Kisame, who was quick to help her up for the second time in the past minute. "The rest of us actually thought it was hilarious when you took off on that bike little lady."

"You drive that thing better than Hidan does most of the time, un." The blonde man, Deidara, if she remembered correctly, came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulder, giving her the same handsome smile as before. "I was impressed. Sasori here too." The red-head walked down the hall towards Itachi's room, giving no sign that he'd heard his friend.

"C-can I go now? Sasuke wanted this-" The script was pulled gently from her hands by Itachi, who shoved it under his brother's door, then wrapped his arm around Naruto's waist and led her down to his room, the rest of the group she'd met earlier, including the new addition of Zetsu, following along swiftly behind.

"Come on Naruto, Hidan wants to play a game, remember?" Itachi's voice was a bit deeper than she'd known it to be, and his hair was mussed up in a way that most girls would recognize as being ruggedly sexy, but she found that it didn't work as well on him.

Naruto was sat down on the floor between Hidan and Deidara, the latter of whom she practically sat on in an attempt to stay away from the angry, seething albino; Deidara didn't complain. The rest of the group arranged themselves in a circle around the rug in the middle of the room aside from Tobi, who seemed perfectly content playing Duck-Duck-Goose all by himself, going around and around the circle.

"Now, Naruto, while we all thought it was funny when you stole Hidan's bike... Ah who the heck are we kidding, great job kid!" Kisame tossed Naruto a can of Dr. Pepper from the cooler that had been dragged out from under Itachi's bed.

"Hey! That ain't right. I oughta kill the f-"

_Smack! _

"-lubbering lot of you for letting some girl take my baby for a joyride!" Hidan rubbed the back of his head, a demonic grin splayed on his face.

"Listen man, we know you're a masochist and all, but stop getting sexual pleasure from getting hit by Kakuzu with the rest of us in the room. It's disgusting." Deidara scrunched his nose up in distaste at the albino before cracking up, forcing Naruto to duck to avoid being hit by Hidan when he dove at the blonde.

"Say that again pretty boy!" Hidan wrapped his arms around Deidara's neck only long enough to be pulled away by Kisame, who Naruto was starting to suspect broke up most of the fights in the group. Hidan was shoved roughly back in his seat, Deidara still laughing it up from his spot on the floor. Naruto shifted awkwardly between them.

"Alright, alright. Give Hidan back his key so he can get over his man-period already." Kisame leaned back against the dark-stained wooden bed post and crossed his legs, bumping both Zetsu and Sasori in the process. Itachi stared at Naruto, who was fidgeting worse now in the heavy silence of the room. She ducked her head and refused to meet his eyes, clenching her hands into fists on her thighs.

"She doesn't have it." Itachi whispered, a manic smile breaking onto his face briefly before flooding away like water. "She hid it." Naruto cast him a sly look, her facade of nervousness melting away into one of confidence.

"No, Itachi. I didn't. You did." Seven pairs of eyes shot straight to the smiling Uchiha. "Wanna play a game?" Naruto giggled.

* * *

Sasuke was grinning like a maniac, the key clutched tightly in his fist. "I ought to give that girl more credit than I do. She's reckless enough to get a stupid plan to work." He crawled backwards into the shadows a little bit and bit his lip to hide the smile that was threatening to break out across his face.

She had had him convinced she was another obsessive girl. She had even sexually assaulted him and his brother, not that Itachi cared. He hadn't had any confidence in her whatsoever, and even doubted that she had two brain cells to rub together to spark a thought, but then she does something totally opposite of his expectations for her. The test; the prank; and now this. She'd studied for ten hours just to show him she was smart enough to take notice of, and beat him by one point on a test. She'd forcefully proven to him that she was capable of pulling off incredible things, and even made him realize that he did need her on occasion; he still had trouble sleeping alone, most nights looking forward to when she would sneak under his covers with him. And now, she'd put him in danger while literally throwing herself to the wolves all for the sake of embarrassing his brother to make it up to him that she'd scared him so badly those two weeks ago.

Sasuke shook the smile from his face. This wasn't right. He didn't like her! She was that ugly, overweight, obnoxious, stupid little girl he had met all that time ago. No one had liked her, heck, he still refused to just because of how bad she'd been, but... Sasuke laid his head back on the metal wall behind him quietly and covered his face with his hands, breathing deeply a few times.

She had him so confused. She had declared her love for him, and had several times since that first day he'd seen her after those 8 years, and she'd shown that she cared about him in so many ways that he couldn't count them if he tried. "I don't want to like her. Everything about her makes me wish I didn't even know her. But, there's just this something... I don't understand it. She's nice to look at, but then she opens her mouth and I want to hit her over whatever the stupid thing she said was, but then I want to laugh about it with her. I don't-"

"WHAT DOES SHE MEAN YOU HID MY F-"

_Smack!_

"Ow! God-"

_Smack!_

"Kakuzu, I swear I'll f-"

_Smack!_

"ARRRRGHHHH!"

_Smack!_

"I didn't even-"

"You're annoying me."

Sasuke bit back a laugh at his brother's insane friends. 'Alright, so I guess this means that everyone just found out that she doesn't have you.' Sasuke held the key up to his eye level and inwardly groaned. 'I'm mentally talking to a key while sitting in an air vent. And I'm calling the ones fighting insane.' Sasuke rolled his eyes and chanced a peek down into the room below him.

"Let's strip search her. I'll bet she's got it on her somewhere!" Sasuke's temper flared and his hands tingled with the sudden need to punch something. He clenched his hands into fists, but he also looked back down into the room to see if they'd actually do- no, no! He was angry!

"Now now, I have a pretty good idea of where it is." Sasuke silently thanked his brother with everything he had, mouthing the word silently to the elder Uchiha.

"Of course you do, she said you were the one that hid the bloody thing, yeah." Deidara ran a hand through Naruto's hair gently, combing through it with his fingers. She leaned back on Deidara and he wrapped an arm around her waist lazily. He leaned in until his lips brushed against her ear.

"Even if they are all mad at you, I like you, yeah. You're a blast!" Naruto smiled up at Deidara and mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to the older teen; he nodded. "I think Kisame likes you too, but he gets along well with everyone, yeah. Tobi too, but we aren't sure how much English the guy speaks, so we just assume he understands us most of the time, yeah." Naruto fought back a giggle, but her shoulders shook with her restrained laughter. She wasn't sure if she was laughing at what he had said, or just his accent, but the experience of being locked in a room with Hidan was suddenly a little better with a friend there, even if she knew Sasuke was watching.

Naruto met Itachi's eye with a knowing look, and he just smirked back at her. "Clever. Very clever Miss Uzumaki."

"What? You said you know where my key is at, so tell me." Hidan sat close to Naruto, close enough for her to tell that, not only did he look like a television star, he wore a ton of that expensive cologne that everybody knew reeked but they wore anyway just because they could. Naruto scrunched her nose up at the smell flooding her nostrils, but relaxed after she got used to it a few minutes later. It was actually kind of a sexy scent-God she was losing it...

"I don't know where it is this minute, but I know who has it. Remember those papers that she had to get to Sasuke? What exactly were they?" Itachi laced his fingers in front of him and rested his chin on them. "She even got me to hand it over. Very clever."

"Instructions and the key. That's what I had you give him, Itachi. After all, I had to teach him how to play hide and seek again; it's been a while since we played." Naruto stood and headed for the door, surprised when no one stopped her.

"Bring me back a turkey club and an ice tea, sweetheart." Naruto pointed her finger at Kisame, like a pretend gun, her shirt sliding off one shoulder slowly, and fired with a 'bang'. She blew on the tip of her finger, her tongue darting out to the tip slowly, before she turned around and exited the room.

"How old is she?" Kisame cocked his head to the side while he stared intently at the closed door.

"17... Why?"

"Dang it, it's illegal."

_Smack!_

* * *

1. So, I for reals love the Akatsuki. They need their own show! For reals. I'm not going to leave very much here this chapter because I'll probably write it out at the end of the next one since it'll be the solution to Hidan's problem this chapter. Yay for stealing motorbikes and Sasuke finally realizing that maybe he does like Naruto? Find out next chapter!

R & R, Love AMB11!


	7. Insult and Injury

Alright! Thanks for everyone that reviewed last chapter. So I've been asked multiple times if the story is almost over now that Sasuke is starting to like Naruto. My answer, heck no! Has anyone ever read a story that has a relationship that starts between two people that don't immediately love each other that has worked itself out with no problems whatsoever? And since when does Sasuke immediately fall in love with a person? He's way to stubborn for that people. So, to those people, no, the story is not almost over. I hope a few people consider this good news...

I apologize for the wait between this chapter and the last, which was about 2 days or so, which is quite a while for me. I've been working on my beta-reader profile, and as soon as my time wait is over, around 4 days I think, I'll be available to work with any other authors as their beta-reader. Keep me in mind for the future!

I hope you've all been anticipating this chapter. I've been working on a few things in it for a while, and that isn't usually my style. I usually just write a chapter in one sitting, but I've actually had to go back to this one a few times. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**

Kisame: AMB11 doesn't own Naruto.

Author: You're just going to say it that easily?

Kisame: Yeah. Got a problem with that?

Author: *Backs away slowly* Absolutely none Mr. Hoshigake. Have a nice afternoon.

Kisame: I really just want to find out what happens next. Wonder why she ran away so fast.

* * *

Chapter 7: Insult and Injury

Sasuke covered his mouth with his hand and tried to calm his breathing down to a semblance of normalcy. His face was red and he'd had to take his shirt off ages ago, tying it around his forehead to keep the sweat from his eyes. He snorted a breath in through his nose and wiped his palms on the legs of his shorts, inching away from the blade of the fan he'd nearly run into. He settled back on his knees and swallowed his spit in an attempt to moisten the back of throat.

He felt faint, the four walls of the vent seeming to close in on him, but he thought back on Naruto's position, and he felt lucky. He sat as close to the fan as he could without getting mangled and tried his hardest not to slip and make noise. They'd almost found him once, when he'd knocked the vent to the ground in the hall outside of Itachi's room when he'd been trying to fit through a spot that was just a bit too small for his shoulders to squeeze through. That was when Itachi had suddenly turned the heat up to over eighty, and ever since then, Sasuke had been slipping and sliding around the vents.

He was sweating it out in a mock version of Hell, while Naruto was visiting the real one courtesy of Hidan.

_~Flashback~_

_Hidan threw the chair across the room and glared at Itachi. He stormed over to the individual and dragged him to his feet by the collar of his jacket. _

_"Do something about your brother and his whore! The twerps are screwing with us and all you have to say about it is a compliment on their strategy!"_

_Itachi forcefully removed Hidan's fingers from around his collar and glared him down so harshly that the albino actually took a step back, but refused to removed himself from the shorter man's personal space. The veins in Itachi's neck were pulsating, and his hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides as he stood up to the much larger individual. He took a step forward, and Hidan slid a few inches back._

_"They humiliated Hidan. _They stole from us. _They are playing us. _I want to watch them lose this game._" Zetsu spoke under his breath, his tone changing from concerned to amused and back to concerned as he spoke. Everyone else in the room held their breath in the tension that was rising from the silent fight in the middle of the room, waiting for one of the two to fall back and retreat. Zetsu ran a hand through his hair and grinned maliciously, his left eye twitching slightly. __Deidara flinched beside the gothic-looking man and scooted as far from him as he could. The blonde closed his eyes and dug into his pockets for his lighter, which he flicked on and off repeatedly in an effort to try to calm himself. The click of the starter became a rhythm in the thick air of the room._

_Itachi tilted his head slowly to the side and watched gleefully as the man before him followed the movement a few seconds after to keep Itachi's gaze locked on his own. _

_Hidan brought his hands up to his hair and dug his fingers into his scalp, his red eyes watering and burning painfully under the intensity of the raven-haired young man's stare. He breathed heavily through his nose before his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. He kept Itachi's gaze, and his eyes burned so badly that when tears overflowed the rims and leaked in a stream down his face that he was almost positive that it was blood and not tears that were rolling down his cheeks. Itachi chuckled a humorless laugh, and Hidan felt like his entire will to fight was being pulled forcefully through his eyes. He fell onto his back, the staring contest finally ending after nearly five minutes of stifling silence in the suffocating room._

_Kisame closed his eyes when Hidan blinked and cried out in pain at the dry scrape on his eyes. "I've never understood how you can do that Itachi." He averted his gaze from the albino clawing at his eyes and rolling on the floor and instead focused on the wind blowing the leaves of the tree that was directly outside the window. "You almost hypnotize people into looking at you until their body can't handle it anymore." Hidan finally crawled back onto his knees, cuts from his fingernails lacing across his cheeks in strange patterns and raised, painful-looking, scratches that were bleeding in thin streaks that mixed with the tears pouring from his swollen eyes._

_"It's all that girl's fault." Hidan slammed his fist against the floor and wiped at his face with the sleeve of his shirt. _

_"I don't think that she meant anything by it. Quit overreacting you big ba-" Deidara cut himself off when Hidan turned to him with a psychotic look on his face, blood dripping from his chin, water and snot leaking from his eyes and nose, his hand streaked with the mess from his face and skin caught under his nails. Hidan stormed towards the door, and when Kisame tried to stop him he pulled a knife on the blue-haired man._

_"I'm not letting some slut make a fool of me." Hidan pushed Kisame from him, blade pointed at the group of stiff-backed people staring at him as he backed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. There was the sound of something breaking as the doorknob was crushed with something and then receding footsteps as he raced down the hall._

_"This isn't good." Itachi fell down to the ground and pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, trying to get rid of the migraine that had forced its' way into his brain. He turned to face Kisame, who had spoken what everyone in the room was sure to have been thinking._

_"So that's why he's been in anger management since he was four." Sasori stated, his expression bored as he examined his fingernails, his eyes sparking with just a brief flash of interest before he turned his attention back to Itachi._

_"Will he seriously hurt somebody?" Deidara stood up and hurried to the door, testing the knob before shaking his head. Kisame placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder before pulling him away from the door._

_"Of course he will." Every person in the room turned in shock to stare at the one person in the room who they weren't expecting to speak when his voice carried clearly through the room. Kakuzu stood and brushed himself off just as Kisame broke the door off of its hinges. "He's gone to prison for it three times already."_

_Itachi was the first person out of the room when Naruto screamed._

_~End Flashback~_

Sasuke pushed his way through the vents, sliding easily through a space he'd been unable to get through moments ago. He paused when he heard Hidan laughing insanely from the shaft to his left, cringing when he heard Naruto screaming loudly afterward. He pulled the crumpled note from his pocket and unfurled the corners to re-read the words written in a feminine chicken scratch scrawled across the index card.

_Sasuke, I want to get back at Itachi's gang for hurting you earlier, and also... Consider this_

_to be an apology for scaring you so badly two weeks ago and then not even apologizing. _

_Take the key taped to the back of this and hide somewhere they won't be able to find you; the vents._

_Follow them around as they move and try not to be found. _

_ I'll distract them as long as I can __until I can get to you safely without them finding out. _

_After we meet up we'll put Hidan's key back __in Itachi''s room. _

_They'll be so frustrated! I hope this will make you feel better about me and_

_Itachi messing with you. We can get back at him and humiliate his friends at the same time!_

_~Love, Naruto._

Sasuke fingered the key in his hand and cringed when there was a loud cracking sound from Naruto's direction and then more of Hidan's insane laughter. "Why hasn't anyone helped you yet, Naruto?" He sat back on his haunches and looked down nervously at the group of young men huddled under him through the grate of the vent.

"Where is he?!" Deidara was in a frenzy, swearing under his breath every time he heard Naruto scream. He punched the wall and cursed loudly when every one of his knuckles cracked. The blonde turned to Itachi, who was lost deep in thought, occasionally whispering to himself and turning around in the hallway to tap against the walls.

Kisame returned from Naruto's room, Hidan's knife in hand. "Wherever they are, Hidan left this behind. I'm hoping this means he's unarmed." Kisame tossed the weapon to Sasori, who tucked it into the loop of his belt before slouching back against the wall with a bored sigh.

"Do you think he'll kill her?" Deidara clicked his lighter on again nervously and stared intently at the flame.

"I hope not. I actually like the little brat." Kisame flicked Deidara on the head and did his best to smile when Deidara called him a few choice words. Itachi suddenly stole the lighter from Deidara's hand and raced down the hallway, almost slipping on the carpet in front of his father's room as he turned the corner towards the stairs.

Deidara and Kisame hurried after them, leaving Tobi behind with Sasori and Zetsu, who glared at the hyper man before promptly locking him in the bathroom to their right. Sasori stared at the schizophrenic goth in front of him while Zetsu whispered to himself, often answering his own questions. Sasori shut his eyes with one thought crossing his mind. 'At least Crazy over there never gets bored. He's always got someone to talk to.'

* * *

"Stop! Please. I don't have it!" Hidan dropped her to the ground and she hurried away from him before he could touch her.

"But you know where it is." Hidan ran a bloody hand through his hair and smiled at the girl that was huddling in the corner of the dark room. Naruto winced when her back hit the wall and put pressure on the bruises that she was positive would be there for a week at least.

Hidan had suddenly stormed into her room, dripping blood all over his shirt and a bit on her floor, a knife in his hand. She'd almost jumped out the window when he'd grabbed her and hoisted her over his shoulder in an intense grip. He dropped his knife when she kicked out and hit his hand, not bothering to pick it up before he rushed out the door and down the hall. Naruto dug her fingers into his back and kicked out frantically, screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs.

She hadn't seen where he'd taken her, but she knew that they were still on the third floor. The air in the room smelt musty and she had to fight back the need to sneeze and cough at the amount of dust in the air. The room wasn't big, but it was still bigger than average seeing as everything in the mansion was larger than necessary. The wall she was up against had some sort of door built into it, but she had yet to try to open the small square in the wall as that would mean turning her back on the man in front of her, and that was something she wouldn't do even if he wasn't dripping blood from several injuries on his face and still smiling.

"Why are you so upset?! It's just a frickin' prank!" Naruto pressed herself back even father into the wall when Hidan inched closer to her. "You'd have gotten your key back soon enough!"

Hidan undid the first button on his shirt, then ran down the row of them until his shirt was hanging open. Bruises were evident on the impossibly white skin of his wide chest. "I told you, girlie. I don't appreciate you stealin' from me and then makin' a fool out of me." He pressed his hands on either side of her head and leaned down until he was eye level with her. "It's not about takin' my key anymore. I'm going to get my payment from you." His lips brushed against her ear and down against her neck, and she shivered, trying to pull herself farther from him, but his arms trapped her against the seam of the door behind her.

Naruto sneaked her hands behind her and tried to pry the door open with her nails, pleased when they slid open easily. She eased her finger into the gap and ran her other hand up his chest, feeling the solid muscles jump under her cold fingers. She pulled upward on the top the sliding door and held it open as far as she could get it with her arm in an awkward position.

She felt Hidan's tongue against her neck, his hand gripping roughly onto her breast, and she pushed him away with every ounce of her strength, shoving herself into the small opening behind her, which she discovered must have been some sort of dumbwaiter that most likely led down to some place in the kitchen. She crouched down inside of the dusty space and slammed the door shut, locking the latch on the inside just as Hidan slammed his fists against the metal of the dumbwaiter door. The question of why there was a latch on the inside of the dumbwaiter crossed her mind, but when Hidan's fist dented the door when he punched it again with a loud cracking sound, she forgot all about questioning the thing keeping her safe for the moment.

Hidan laughed loudly from the other side, and then the dumbwaiter slipped downward just a little bit, and Naruto screamed, throwing her hands out to her sides against the metal walls. Hidan's fist slammed against the door again and she heard the chain holding the dumbwaiter up rattle under the strain of her weight. Naruto squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for the worst.

* * *

Itachi flicked the lighter on and then threw it up into the vent above his head, pleased when he heard his brother shout in surprise followed by a loud bang as Sasuke slipped and fell in the shaft.

"Sasuke! I'm sorry about everything, okay? I shouldn't let my friends beat the crap out of you every time they see you just because they can." Kisame and Deidara grinned sheepishly at each other, Kisame coughing to clear his throat awkwardly. "Hidan has seriously snapped! Kakuzu said that he stopped taking a medication a few days ago to help with his anger because it wasn't good for his physical health. He's got Naruto now and we seriously need to get her out of there before he does something that'll scar her for life!"

Sasuke peered out over the edge and swung his feet down before dropping down the ten feet to the ground with assistance from Kisame. He untied the shirt from around his forehead and wiped a sweaty hand on his shorts before dragging it across his forehead to get rid of the dripping mess from his hair. "Why did you turn the freakin' heat on if you knew I was up there?!" Sasuke raced off down the hall to the left towards the guest rooms in the part of the mansion that their father had been planning to renovate, his brother and company following on his heels.

"You were having trouble getting through the vents when you were looking for Naruto, so I turned the heat on to expand the metal to help you get through them more easily."

"I wasn't looking for Naruto." Sasuke growled out, angry at the girl for getting herself in trouble for his sake.

"Right, right." Itachi tried to open the door that Sasuke was sure that Hidan and Naruto were behind, but grunted in frustration when the knob fell to the ground with a thunk and the door stayed shut tightly. Kisame pushed the Uchiha brothers out of the way, Deidara hanging out nervously behind him, and backed up a few feet. He rushed the door with his shoulder, and stepped back in surprise when the door didn't even budge. The group heard Hidan laugh behind the door, followed by Naruto screaming at him to stop and then a loud groan that sounded like an elevator moving and the rattle of chains.

"I've got an idea. When the door opens, take care of Hidan." Sasuke dashed for the stairs as fast as he could go, grateful for the rubber soles on his sneakers when he rounded the corner to the stairs without falling. He took the steps three at a time and jumped over the landing of the second floor completely, diving straight into the hallway, taking off the second his feet had hit the ground. He slid around the corner smoothly, his fingertips skating across the ground.

He skid to a stop when he turned into the supply closet he'd hidden in before just two week ago. He threw the door open and began throwing things to the floor in an attempt to get back to the door he knew would be behind the shelf at the back of the room. He pried the doors open and dug around inside the dumbwaiter shaft for the chain that he knew would be tied to a hook on the wall. His fingers searched in the dark until they wrapped around the chain he'd been looking for.

He untied it from the wall and watched as the dumbwaiter ran quickly from the floor above, followed by the enrage yell of Hidan as Naruto slid down in the dumbwaiter to the second floor where Sasuke was waiting. Sasuke pulled his head out of the shaft just as the dumbwaiter slowed to a stop in front of him, the chains tied to the inside of the shaft in the kitchen below them holding the small elevator on the second floor.

The doors slowly opened an inch, and a pale and scared face peeked out through the crack. Sasuke crossed his arms across his chest and frowned at her. "Way to go, idiot. You got a gang to hate you." Naruto slammed the door of the dumbwaiter open and threw her arms around Sasuke's neck, her legs dangling out of the opening.

"Thank you, Sasuke." Sasuke sighed at the girl hugging him and pushed her away by her shoulders.

"What have I said about touching me?"

"Not to..." Naruto wiped at her eyes and sniffled a bit in an attempt to get the dust out of her nose. They listened as Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara took down a psychotic Hidan. Naruto rubbed at the spot on her neck where Hidan had licked her until the skin felt raw.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke grabbed her wrist when he saw blood all over her shoulder.

"It's Hidan's. When he grabbed me, he was bleeding. It looked like he'd stuck his face in a wood chipper. I've just got a few bruises. I'm fine, honest."

"Are all of your pranks dangerous, or is this just an exception?" Sasuke took a step back so Naruto could jump out of the dumbwaiter, and helped her stand when she nearly collapsed.

"I didn't know that Hidan would flip out and sexually assault me just because I took the key to his motorcycle!" Naruto jumped when the dumbwaiter suddenly crashed down to the floor below with an intensely loud bang that echoed back up to where she and Sasuke were standing. She took a step back when dust billowed out of the opening to the shaft, coughing to clear her lungs. She gaped as the chain fell down from the floor above where it had snapped.

"Come on." Sasuke led her from the room by her shoulder, trying to distract her from the fact that she very nearly avoided dying in the dumbwaiter that had previously saved her. "Now, Hidan did what to you?" Naruto flinched under the tone of Sasuke's voice, which was colder than she'd ever heard it.

"I told you, I'm fine." Naruto placed her hand on his arm as he helped her up the stairs.

"Itachi said that he was off a medication he should have been taking. That explains why he was so violent. I mean, he's always violent, but this is ridiculous."

"I figured he was insane. He just has this look to him that says, "I'm a violent nutjob!" Naruto and Sasuke turned the corner to see Hidan being carried by Kisame out of the room he'd taken Naruto to. He was slung over the blue-haired teen's shoulder, obviously unconscious.

"I'm going to take him to the hospital. He needs some stitches and a lot of crazy meds. You alright kiddo?" Kisame placed a hand on Naruto's head and ruffled her hair playfully. "He's not always like this. He probably won't even remember this in a few hours. Can you forgive him?"

"What?! Are you crazy?" Naruto yelled in complete shock.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" Itachi walked out of the bathroom, an empty syringe in his hand. He held it up when Sasuke eyed it warily. "Sedative. It's how we got him out without any body getting hurt." He tossed it into the wastebasket just inside the bathroom door and turned back to his brother and Naruto. Kisame ruffled Naruto's hair again then headed for the stairs, swinging Itachi's car keys around his index finger, occasionally adjusting the large man over his shoulder to a more comfortable position.

Deidara suddenly hugged Naruto, who groaned when the worried blonde accidentally pushed against a sore spot on her back. "You okay, un?" He held her face with his hands and pushed his forehead against hers. Naruto blushed bright red at his blatant show of intimacy, one of his hands brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear, the other stroking her cheek gently. Deidara smiled crookedly, and Naruto instantly relaxed and hugged him.

"You're really touchy-feely, you know that?" She mumbled into his shoulder, the tips of his hair tickling her cheek, smiling when she heard him grunt in agreement. Sasuke glared at the blonde holding Naruto, and jumped when Itachi placed a hand on his brother's bare shoulder, a knowing smile on his face.

Naruto stepped back from the hug and smiled at her new friend. "Thanks. To all of you." She hugged Itachi and kissed his cheek, giggling when he blushed. She moved to hug Sasuke, but shrank back when frowned sternly at her. She held her hand out to him, and Sasuke shook it, watching as her eyes teared up a bit at the obvious rejection. She walked slowly to her room, her footsteps heavy on the hardwood floor, picking up instantly to a run as she turned the corner. The three young men tried to block out the fact that they could hear her crying as she ran away.

Itachi smacked his brother upside the head and frowned deeply at him.

"What's the matter with you, un! The girl likes you and you reject her like that?"

"It isn't up to you how I treat her. She can say she loves me all she wants, but I don't even like having to put up with her on a daily basis. She's annoying and always getting into trouble." Sasuke glared at Deidara and Itachi before turning his back on them and walking down the hall to his room. "She's not worth it." Itachi frowned.

"He likes her, doesn't he?" Deidara crossed his arms across his chest and hurried after Itachi as they went the opposite direction his brother had gone on their way back to the rest of the gang.

"Hn." Itachi nodded, lost in thought. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "And she likes him. He just doesn't want anything to do with her. I actually don't understand why."

The two turned the final corner and paused. Zetsu was having an argument with himself, while Sasori was fighting off a twitch, Tobi singing a very annoying pop song from inside the bathroom at the top of his lungs, occasionally pausing to giggle to himself.

"Why do I hang out with you guys again?"

"We're a blast, yeah!" Itachi scraped at a bit of the dried blood on the floor with the toe of his black vans.

"Right." Itachi sighed heavily.

* * *

"So, did you two behave while Itachi's friends were over this afternoon?"

Naruto's head was hanging low on her shoulders, the tips of her hair hanging in her food. Sasuke was pointedly not looking at her, playing with the food on his plate, his fork occasionally scraping against the glass. Itachi's harsh glare was focused intently on Sasuke, his plate practically untouched.

"Naruto, honey. Your hair is in the potatoes."

"Yeah, I know." Naruto's voice was quiet and void of emotion. "Hey, I'm not feeling too well. I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day." Naruto pushed her chair out and stood, walking swiftly from the room.

"I hope she feels better soon." Fugaku and Minato hurriedly finished their meals and left the table with the excuse of going out on a grocery run.

"We'll be back in an hour or so. Itachi, watch your brother and Naruto while we're gone." The door slammed shut, and the silence in the kitchen quickly became overbearing.

"Quit staring." Sasuke leaned his cheek against his fist, his elbow on the table beside his plate. He shoveled another bite of food into his mouth and chewed slowly.

"I was instructed to watch you. That's what I'm doing." Sasuke felt like he was burning under Itachi's fierce gaze. Sweat was running down his spine in rivulets.

"Why are you so mad at me? What'd I do?"

"You like Naruto."

"Don't be an idiot." Sasuke pushed his chair back and gathered his dishes and carried them to the sink, downing the last of his drink before setting the glass under the running water. He shut off the faucet and dried his hands on the towel hanging from the oven door.

"Why are you telling yourself you don't?" Itachi rose to his feet and stood in front of Sasuke, looking him in the eye and keeping him from leaving before he was finished talking.

"Because I don't! She's just another one of those girls that wants me because of what I have." Sasuke tried to brush past his brother, but Itachi pushed him back until he was pressed up against the wall, his brother looming over him with the extra two inches in height he had. Itachi's look softened at the angry and confused look on Sasuke's face.

"Maybe she does want you for what you have, but have you considered that maybe she wants things you have that aren't as obvious as others? Maybe it's not money or the name Uchiha that she wants, but something else that only you have. Maybe she just wants 'Sasuke.' Have you ever thought about that? Why else would she put up with everything you say, every time you put her down, or reject her? She's still here, Sasuke, she hasn't given up. Look at all that she put herself through today, for you." Itachi held up the crumpled note that Sasuke knew by heart by now from how many times he'd read over the note in moments of worry or panic throughout the day. Sasuke's frown deepened.

"That doesn't prove anything. She just did it so I wouldn't be mad anymore. It's all just a ploy."

Itachi sighed. "I knew you were stupid, but this is ridiculous." He poked Sasuke in the forehead, smiling when his brother cursed and rubbed at the red spot. "What girl locks herself in an ancient dumbwaiter with a psychopathic man three times her size trying to get inside of it just because she wouldn't tell him where you were because she didn't want you to get hurt? What kind of girl allows herself to be physically and sexually assaulted by said psychopath because she wants you for money? If all she wanted was the money, she'd have gone after me once she'd found that you weren't interested, not stuck with you just for some petty reason." Itachi walked out of the room, whispering as he left, "She loves you for you, Sasuke. She's not going anywhere, so don't be an idiot."

Sasuke closed his eyes as his brother left the room, and slid to the ground on the wall behind him. He buried his face in his hands, his fingers digging into the roots of his hair and pulling harshly. He was so confused. He looked up when he heard someone walk nervously into the kitchen. The blonde spotted him, and her eyes glazed over, but her expression stayed hard, her movements stiff.

"Uchiha-san." Her voice was liquid scorn. Naruto nodded at him, and he realized he probably looked pretty pathetic. He got to his feet and composed himself the best he could. Naruto got a bottle of water from the fridge and turned her back on him, drying the condensation from the bottle with a paper towel. She swerved around him, purposefully putting in extra effort to not touch him, and Sasuke felt a nag of guilt pull at his chest.

'I'm glad that she's finally leaving me alone, right? I hate it when she touches me, right?'

"It wouldn't be Uchiha-san." His voice surprised himself more than it had Naruto, but the words had just slipped out. He grabbed her wrist to stop her when she began to leave, and felt his heart skip a beat at the shot of electricity that ran up his arm. "It'd be Sasuke-kun."

"B-but I-I..." Naruto's mouth opened and closed a few times before she looked down at her wrist, which Sasuke was still holding onto tightly. He dropped it, and felt his shoulders sag when his hand felt cold the second he'd let go.

"I don't like you because you're annoying, a troublemaker, a stalker, and you are always trying to get me to like you in the most ridiculous ways." Naruto glared at him, and Sasuke felt just a little pride; she'd have cried at that before she'd met him. "But, you're constantly impressing me, you irritate me so much that I actually get amused in the strangest ways, and, stalker or not, you're always there. Now, I don't like you, but I don't want you to not be around anymore. It'd be weird to see you and not have you try to annoy me."

"So... Sasuke-kun, huh? Why the -kun at the end?" Naruto took a drink from her bottle, eyeing him warily.

'Because I like it when you call me that.' Sasuke looked at the blonde girl and felt a bit guilty that she didn't quite trust him anymore. "Because, we're friends."

He felt his pulse speed up when the distrust melted from her eyes, the crystal blue of her eyes glittering in happiness. "Friends?" Naruto held her free hand out to Sasuke like she had earlier that day.

Sasuke looked at the delicate hand being offered, before he brushed it away and awkwardly hugged the girl instead. "To make up for earlier." His lips brushed against her ear as he spoke. The hug was over before she could return it, but she was frozen from shock anyway. "Come on. We never did read over your re-write of the script. I want your opinion on a few things."

Naruto brushed the tears from her eyes at his statement. He wanted her help; her opinion mattered to him. She hurried up the stairs after him.

'One step closer.' She smiled when she fell into step with him in the hallway and he didn't push her away when they brushed shoulders. 'Friends with Sasuke.'

. . . . . . .

'Dear God, what have I done?' Sasuke felt heat shoot to his groin when she scooted close enough to him on his bed for her perfume to wind its' way into his personal space and the heat she emitted to soak into his skin. He felt hotter than he had earlier that day when he was hiding in the vents. 'Friends with her?' She smiled brightly up at him when she showed him that the two of them had made the same correction on one page of the script, and he felt his heart melt just watching her get excited over every little thing that they had done in the same way.

'She's so confusing and she annoys the heck out of me, but...' His hand brushed against hers and he felt just a little bit happier in the moment, actually smiling when she hurried to show him her version of the ending for one of the scenes. He looked at her while she read something that he hadn't bothered to read. Her hair cascaded down her back in golden waves, her azure eyes shining in concentration, the tip of her pencil caught between her teeth, and her entire face lighting up when she finally found what she had been looking for. '...But maybe... I like to be annoyed sometimes.'

. . . . .

End Chapter 7!

* * *

1. So, I really hope you like this chapter. It left me frustrated for a while when the words just wouldn't come out, but I'm pleased with the end result. And Hidan isn't a bad guy, just a bit insane as is everyone in Akatsuki!

2. Man to man talk? Yeah, just a bit, but it was necessary for the furthering of Sasuke and Naruto's relationship. It finally hit home that he couldn't get rid of her, so why not try to get along.

3. Itachi got his big moment with Hidan! I feel like that was epic. World's coolest staring contest, right?

4. Alright, so the next chapter will have some ItaNaru in it, for those of you who have been wanting some. Now that Sasuke has finally accepted Naruto as someone that isn't going anywhere, a bit of romance is going to worm its' way into the equation, but as we all know, it won't be able to get in there easily!

5. Stay tuned, because I have a feeling that the next chapter will be up soon if I can get some reviews for this one! ...Just a hunch, yeah?

R & R, love AMB11!


	8. Practice Leaves Him Heartbroken

Forgot this, so I'll edit it in now. **Happy 4th of July** everybody! BOOM! Haha, I love fireworks.

I'm really pleased with the hype this story is getting, and it's exciting to see that every time I check the story's properties, the views have gone up by at least 10. It's up to 3, 330 views as of now, and it's still going up! Thank you so much guys! 40 followers, 21 favorites, and 20 reviews. Success! If you're liking this story, you should check out my other two that are currently works-in-progress, **Dignity of a Criminal **and **Chosen Insanity**, which I just updated today!

It means so much to me to hear from you all that you are loving my stories! You all have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that. Thank you so much to all my reviewers and to those of you who gave me suggestions.

So, I hope you guys find the first situation with Tobi to be funny, because I was cracking up when I wrote it. For reals.

This chapter is a little perverted, but I feel like I played it off well. They are helping her after all.

And yes to those of you who may be thinking this, I am a girl that loves motorcycles even if I don't drive one. They're just cool. So all of the ones I've mentioned in the past and future are actually some of my favorite in either model and looks or just their past popularity. They are real!

**Disclaimer:**

Itachi: I was pretty epic last chapter.

Naruto: Yes Itachi...

Itachi: I mean, I totally beat up Hidan without even touching him.

Naruto: Uh huh.

Itachi: I'm pretty beast. And now this chapter I get to have fun with you. My life rules. *uncharacteristic fist pump*

Naruto: Sure does.

Itachi: Are you listening to me?

Naruto: No, I'm too focused on the fact that AMB11 doesn't own Naruto.

Itachi: Whatever, I still get to make out with you in this chapter.

Naruto: Wait, what?

Itachi: So now you listen...

* * *

Chapter 8: Practice Leaves Him Heartbroken

Sasuke kissed her soundly, her blonde hair threaded through his fingers at the base of her neck. He tilted Naruto's head back and kissed her desperately, as if his connection to her was the only thing keeping him alive. Tears from her closed eyes pooled under under blonde lashes and ran down her face. He slanted his lips against hers, and she curled her fingers into his shirt, ignoring the blood leaking from his shoulder that was dripping down her arm. He whispered her name against her lips, and hugged her close, his grip in her hair almost painful. He pulled away from her, taking her hands in his when she tried to bring him back into her arms.

"Aaron, no." Her voice was quiet, and she choked on her tears. Sasuke looked deep into her azure eyes, that reminded him of the waves in the ocean when she cried. He kissed her again gently, wiping a smudge of dirt from her cheek with his thumb. "I love you." Her hand was shaking as she cupped his cheek

"I love you too." Sasuke pushed his forehead against hers, his expression twisted into one of pain. "Go." Sasuke pushed her through the door, and shut it behind the startled girl. He clicked the lock into place, fighting back the urge to open the door when she cried out his name and frantically beat at the door. Sasuke rushed down the corridor, his footsteps light on the carpet of the dimly lit room. He raised his gun to eye level and crept around the corner, diving into an open doorway to hide. He rushed down the hallway and into the small army opposing him, Naruto's blood curdling scream settling fear in the pit of his stomach.

"CUT!" The director jumped out of his seat and went straight to the screens on the side of the filming set. He watched over the footage, smiling brightly at the scene until he reached the kiss, and then his smile dropped a few watts. He turned to the two actors that were reading over the next scene they'd have to record. "Good job you two." The director rushed over to Sasuke and Naruto and clapped each of them on the back soundly with his hands.

"Thanks Mr. Iruka. Was it alright?"

"Yes, it was alright for a first try. We're going to keep the audio from the very end. That scream was fantastic Naruto. There was one problem though." Iruka sent off a text on his iPhone and ordered some random worker to retrieve something for him before turning back to the expectant teens.

Sasuke took a drink of the bottle of water that one of the workers on the set had brought him and then handed it to Naruto, who ended up keeping it seeing as she drank practically the rest. Sasuke didn't blame her; that last scream probably screwed her voice up like no other since it had practically broken the sound barrier. "What was wrong with it? I feel like that was our best recording so far. It was a first take after all." Sasuke waved away the make up artist that was hovering over his shoulder when the man got just a little too close for comfort. Naruto sat down in the directors' seat and crossed her legs.

"It was good, it just... It looked like acting. You two weren't into it as much as I was hoping you'd be." Iruka shooed Naruto out of his seat with a weak laugh and plopped back into it tiredly. "I figured since you two have known each other for a while there'd be some kind of connection in the shoot and that it'd look realistic enough to fool even myself. You both just looked so stiff. Naruto, you seemed nervous. Sasuke, you looked like you would rather be anywhere else. You even looked at the camera at one point."

Sasuke cringed. 'Well, oops.' He sighed out a deep breath and checked his watch, groaning when he realized that it was nearly 9 o'clock. "I haven't acted before, so you're working with a novice."

"Well, we'll try again Monday, so you two get some rest tonight and tomorrow and be here at 4 Monday afternoon for a re-shoot." Iruka's phone rang, and he walked away from the two teens, who hurried off to their dressing rooms before the director changed his mind and went for another take that night.

Naruto was done first, dressed in a simple pair of black skinny jeans tucked into her knee-high, black combat boots with orange laces, a white tank top that cut off a bit above her jeans, and a purple and black striped jacket that was a bit too big for her. She sat down on the ground across the hall from Sasuke's dressing room and pulled the hood up over her head. She messed around with her father's phone, glad that he'd given it to her to borrow since she'd be out so late. She looked up from the picture she was drawing on the Paint app when Sasuke exited his dressing room, and blushed when she realized that he'd taken so long because he'd taken a shower.

Sasuke pulled his t-shirt on just after he closed the door and locked it behind him. He turned around and froze when he noticed Naruto staring at him, but then brushed it off and tightened the cloth belt around his waist that was holding his pants up. He jerked his thumb in the direction of the exit. "You coming?" Naruto nodded and hurried after him, a smile on her face the entire time. 'He invited me to walk with him.'

Sasuke walked through the door when Naruto held it open for him, muttering a quick word of thanks, then hurried out into the warm air outside of the enormous building. Naruto caught up to him a moment later, pushing the sleeves of her jacket up. The two turned into the parking garage off to the right side of the street, ignoring the crosswalk and jaywalking across the empty road.

"So... Good work tonight." Sasuke shoved his hands into the pockets of his baggy jeans and cleared his throat nervously.

"Thanks! You too." Naruto pressed the button on her key and listened for the beep of her new motorcycle. She jogged over to the shiny bike excitedly and threw the hood off of her head. "You know, I still can't believe your dad got me a new bike. It was a huge surprise when I walked outside this morning. I swear that my heart skipped a beat." She ran a hand over the brilliantly orange bike and swung herself onto the front, tugging her helmet onto her head over the thick mass of blonde hair.

"Itachi was the one that told him you were licensed. It was meant to be a gift for helping out with this whole film thing. Plus, he's been nagging me about walking everywhere, and since I don't want to drive and we usually go places together, he figured this would be a good solution. Now we have a ride to school and to this stupid movie shooting. I guess it saves time and effort on my part." Sasuke pulled his helmet onto his head and sat down behind Naruto, his hands on her shoulders as she kicked the stand up and started the engine.

"Glad to be of service!" Naruto yelled over the roar of the Honda Gold Wing ABS, laughing away when the bike took off out of the garage, and out into the street, slowing slightly when she turned the corner.

"I just wish this was less embarrassing for me!" Sasuke flipped the visor on his helmet down and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist as they passed the front of the filming studio, Naruto pushing the speed limit by at least 15mph.

Iruka exited the building and stopped at the edge of the street when he saw the headlight of a motorcycle coming his way. There was a rush of air as the bike zoomed past him, and his jaw fell open when he saw the blonde hair streaming behind the driver and the much larger male clinging tightly to the small girl. "You've got to be kidding me." Iruka crossed the street to his car, laughing to himself the entire way at the odd sight he'd just witnessed. "That was actually pretty impressive. She's got a nice bike."

. . . . . . .

"You know that you can actually go the speed limit, right? You don't have to go so fast that we'd get arrested if a cop drove by. My father is a cop. He'd arrest us if he saw you driving this fast on the motorcycle he bought you." Sasuke relaxed his grip on Naruto a bit when she slowed down at the stop light and waited for it to turn green.

"Don't be such a baby. I'm not going that fast." Naruto uncurled her fingers from the handlebars and stretched the sore muscles. She stared up at the red light, waiting for what seemed like an eternity as cars zoomed through the four way intersection. Sasuke pulled his helmet off to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Sasuke? Is that you man? Who's bike is that?" Sasuke jerked his helmet back onto his head and cursed loudly.

"Who's that Sasuke?" Naruto asked over her shoulder, switching the weight of the bike onto her other foot, Sasuke helping her balance the heavy machine.

"Ignore him."

"How? We're in the lane beside the sidewalk and he's coming this way. Sasuke. Who is that and should I be worried?" Naruto looked back up at the light, the stream of cars flowing through the intersection slowed.

The silver-haired man hurried over to them on the sidewalk, calling out Sasuke's name repeatedly and waving his hand frantically. The light turned green.

"Go! Go! Go!" Naruto gunned it, speeding through the intersection and down the street. She turned hurriedly down a few side roads and stopped at the stop sign at the end of the empty road. She pulled her helmet off of her head and looked at Sasuke over her shoulder, holding his gaze steadily.

"Who was that?"

"He's an upperclassmen at our school; a grade above us. His name is Suigetsu."

Naruto kicked the stand down on her bike and turned the engine off to save fuel. "Why did you want to get out of there so fast?" Naruto heard Sasuke sigh before he took his helmet off and put his feet down on the ground to steady himself.

"In a way, he's like those girls you met on your first day at school."

"He's in love with you?"

"No! Of course not, idiot. He wants my money, so he tried to get into my social group, but gave up when I wouldn't even talk to him. Every time he sees me though, he tries to get back at me for ignoring him in some way. He'll take a simple situation and use it to embarrass me. He's always starting things with me just because I pissed him off."

"Oh." Naruto spun her helmet in her hands absentmindedly. "That's why you don't like those girls?" Sasuke nodded with a grunt. "I can understand. That'd be pretty annoying." She paused for just a moment to take a breath. "So, did you want to get out of there so fast because you're embarrassed to be seen with me and you think that Suigetsu would use that against you?"

"Don't be stupid. I'm just embarrassed because I'm on the back of the bike." Sasuke clamped his mouth shut, clipping off the end of the final word in his sentence. Naruto laughed loudly at his expense, and Sasuke felt his cheeks redden in the darkness of the night. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing! I'm just glad that it isn't my fault. After all, you can't blame me for being your chauffeur." Naruto kicked her stand up. "Now, lets get home. There's a Lord of the Rings marathon on tonight that I know you've been waiting for all day."

"I already missed the first one and most of the second one."

"Just watch it tomorrow then. They're doing a re-run tomorrow evening around seven." Naruto zoomed down the last few blocks and pulled into the driveway.

"Yeah, yeah. But hey." Sasuke shut the front door behind Naruto and headed for the stairs, the blonde following up behind him quickly. "When we go to school on Monday, can you park in the church parking lot down the street instead of the school parking lot?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem. You'd probably be embarrassed anyway if I drove into the parking lot, right?"

"Hn. Oh, and one more thing." Sasuke paused at his bedroom door, his hand on the knob, and turned to face Naruto, who was half-way into her room already. "You really need to work on your kissing." Sasuke walked into his room and kicked the door shut, leaving Naruto frozen in the hallway.

"I-... I'm a b-bad kisser?" Naruto ran down the hall to Itachi's room as fast as she could.

. . . . . .

"Itachi! Itachi! Wake up!" Naruto shook Itachi by his shoulder so hard that the posts holding the bed up smacked against the wall loudly. Itachi shot up in bed, gasping for air, when Naruto belly flopped on top of him.

"Na-Naruto? Whaddya want? I had a long day. I'm tired." Itachi shoved Naruto off of him, not feeling guilty at all when she hit the floor with a loud thunk.

"I know, I'm sorry Itachi. I just really need someone to talk to." Naruto climbed up onto his bed and leaned her head down on his shoulder. Itachi wrapped his arm around her waist out of habit and leaned his head down so that he could look her in the eye.

"Well, there'd be no point in making you leave now since you already woke me up. What's wrong Naru?"

"You know how Sasuke and I are playing love interests in that movie your dad is funding?" Itachi nodded and 'hmmd' quietly in answer to her question while he played with the tips of her hair. "We filmed a kissing scene just before we came home, and the director said it was good for a first try, but we needed to work on making it look more realistic and less like two actors being paid to kiss in front of a camera."

"I can understand where he's coming from with that. It's a good enough point."

"Yeah, I guess. But..." Naruto frowned. "When we got home, Sasuke told me that I needed to work on my kissing. He thinks I'm a bad kisser, Itachi." Itachi cringed. His brother could be more heartless than Zetsu sometimes, and Zetsu went to parks just to push kids out of swings and off of slides if they even looked at him funny. Itachi rubbed his hand soothingly on Naruto's back while she fumed a bit, defending her kissing with words that Itachi felt she shouldn't even know.

"You shouldn't talk like that. You're in the presence of a lady, you know." Itachi tugged her hair playfully.

"Itachi, I know you're pretty and all, but I don't think you should insult yourself like-"

"Not me you idiot!" Itachi smacked her upside the head lightly, a smile lighting up his face in the dark. "Now I know why Sasuke does that all the time. It's fun." He laughed quietly. "Listen. How about we go to bed for now, and we'll come up with a solution that'll blow Sasuke away in the morning? Okay? A few of my friends will be here, but I'm sure we can work something out."

Naruto flinched. "Hidan's coming back?"

"No, just Kisame, Deidara, and Tobi."

"Alright then. It's a deal 'Tachi." Itachi hugged Naruto warmly before flopping back on his bed, his hair a mess on the pillow and over his face.

"I can go to sleep now, right?"

"Uh huh" Naruto giggled and then curled up against the dark-haired man. She kissed him on the cheek and jumped back when he suddenly tickled her. "Hey! No! I thought you were tired!"

"Quit kissing me or I'll be so turned on I won't be able to sleep." Itachi stuck his tongue out at her.

"You're like the weirdest person ever Itachi. You're such a freak." Naruto laughed breathily and blushed.

"Ah, so I've heard."

* * *

"Itachi! I've got it! I figured out how you could fix my problem. Oh, hey guys." Naruto stopped tugging on the sleeve of Itachi's jacket when she saw the other company inside his room.

"H-hey." Kisame waved awkwardly to the girl standing just inside of the room before grabbing Itachi and pulling him close enough to talk to him without Naruto hearing. "Does she always walk around like that in the morning?" Deidara joined the two man huddle, forcing his eyes off of Naruto, who was shifting her weight idly from foot to foot while she waited for Itachi to finish whatever he was doing.

Naruto pulled at the hem of the t-shirt she'd stolen from Itachi's room in an attempt to cover her light blue underwear covered in a sapphire blue lace overlay when she noticed all of the guys looking at her aside from Tobi, who ran up and gave her the biggest bear hug she'd ever had.

"No, sometimes she forgets the t-shirt." Itachi answered hurriedly, wanting to get Naruto out of there as soon as possible. "So, what did you come up with?"

"Well, I was thinking about what we went over in your bed last night while I was in the shower, and I really wanted to fix my problem as soon as possible, and I realized that I just need practice since it's still something I'm kind of new at. You were my first, so I figured I could come to you later today and you'd be willing to do it again with me this afternoon until I get better. So, will you Itachi?"

Deidara fell over with a nosebleed at some time during the speech, while Kisame bit back his jealousy at Itachi getting to do a few _things _with the hot blonde. Itachi took a step back when he felt the negative energy leaking from the two young men that had been listening to Naruto, who was currently playing patty cake with Tobi, one of them singing the words in English and the other in Japanese.

"I-it's not what it sounds like!" Itachi loosened the tie around his neck. "What she means, is that she and my brother have to kiss for a small-time movie they're starring in, and Sasuke told her last night that she's a bad kisser. She came to me last night to talk about this after I'd gone to bed, and I promised I'd help her today before she goes back to filming on Monday. Now, what I don't know anything about is the whole 'first' deal, but I did offer to help once we'd come up with a solution."

Deidara smacked Itachi upside the head anyway before heading over to Naruto and dragging her away from the foreigner that was trying to draw on her white shirt with a sharpie he'd pulled out of his pocket at some point. "So, kiddo. Explain yourself a little better, yeah. You've got us grown-ups confused."

"Itachi, remember when you were helping my dad and me move our stuff onto the moving trucks at the beginning of last month?"

"How could I forget? That's the day the quiet ended."

"Shut up and let her finish, un." Deidara waved his hand in Itachi's face and jumped when Itachi bit him.

"When I kissed you then, that was my first kiss." Itachi's face fell, his eyes wide and his jaw slack.

"S-seriously? That was a first try?" Naruto nodded. "I don't know what Sasuke's talking about. You're a good kisser if you ask me."

"Thanks." Naruto smiled at the second tallest male in the room as she pulled on his dark ponytail. "Anyways. I just thought that you'd be willing to help me practice until I'm a better kisser for my shoot on Monday. You could all help if you want."

All of the guys looked at each other for a minute, an awkward silence hanging in the air as they froze in disbelief at the blonde's offer.

"Tobi will help!" Tobi slid his hands onto Naruto's cheeks and pulled her lips up to meet his, Naruto's eyes going wide in total shock, her hands clutching onto Tobi's shirt to keep her balance.

The silence was stifling now as Naruto's eyes fluttered shut when Tobi's lips moved sensuously against hers in a slow, steady rhythm.

"Uh... Should we do something man?" Kisame turned his eyes away from the scene in front of him when Tobi gripped onto the hair at the nape of Naruto's neck firmly to bring her closer to him. Kisame's red blush clashed with his blue hair.

"Huh, didn't know he had it in him, yeah." Deidara pulled the top section of his hair back and tied it up with a hairband he'd stolen from Itachi's drawer, his bangs flopping back down to rest on the side of his face.

"I call next!" The situation quickly dissolved into a fistfight when they all called dibs at the same time.

* * *

"Alright. So, I've devised a system." Naruto paced back and forth in front of the line-up of young men in front of her, reading over the list she'd made after she'd gotten dressed. "You'll each get ten minutes to teach me one kind of kiss, and before another fight ensues, I've already assigned you each one." There were three groans of annoyance and one yell of 'Yay for Tobi!' before she continued giving her instructions. "Up first is Kisame. You're in charge of the approach." She looked the enormous teen over then turned back to her list. "You seem like a predatory kind of guy, so I figured that you'd be the best choice to teach me how to go for the kiss."

"Yes ma'am." Kisame saluted jokingly.

"Tobi is second. I've already... ahem... worked with Tobi, and he's really good at sensual kissing that doesn't push any kind of boundaries. The perfect beginning to the kind of kiss that my director is looking for. Tobi, you're in charge of leading."

"Tobi is ready!" Tobi hugged Naruto tightly again, Kisame eventually prying the man off of the poor girl.

Naruto took a deep breath to keep her chest from caving in before she thanked Kisame. "Alright, after Tobi is Deidara. I only have one word to explain your job, bub." Deidara looked at her with a confused expression while she looked him up and down briefly. "Tongue." Deidara smirked proudly and nodded.

"And finally is Itachi. I need help with the part after the big kiss where Sasuke and I have to be all gushy and stuff before he goes into the fight and almost dies. You're a romantic, so I-"

"No I'm not."

"But you've got all of those shoujo manga under your-"

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do. I've seen you reading-"

"No you haven't." Kisame smacked Itachi upside the head.

"Some guys have porn. Itachi reads romantic girly manga. Nice man." Deidara grabbed Tobi by the collar and dragged him to the door, Itachi following after, grumbling the entire time. "Ten minutes Hoshigake! I'm timing you." The door shut.

.

"Alright Mr. Kisame. Show me where to start, but we may want to sit down. I can't even touch your shoulders like this." Kisame threw Naruto over his shoulder suddenly, laughing when she squeaked loudly, and carried her over to the desk, where he sat the squirming girl down. He sat down in the desk chair, and wheeled it up in front of her. The two were at eye level.

"I didn't expect that to work... Either you're shorter than I thought you were or I'm bigger than I thought I was. Eh, whatever. Okay little lady. What kind of kiss scene is this supposed to be?"

Naruto crossed her legs at the ankle and put her hands on Kisame's shoulders. "Well, it's at the part of the movie where he's making me run and go get help while he stays and buys me some time. It's basically a big, romantic 'good-bye-in-case-we-never-see-each-other-again kiss. Make sense?"

"Perfect sense. That kind of thing is easy. What you need to do is imagine that, at that moment, that it is the very last time you'll ever get to see Sasuke. You like him don't you?"

Naruto shook her head. "I don't like him, I love him."

"I see. Well, you need to act like as if he's fixing to sacrifice himself for you, and you're kissing him good-bye. Do you think you can do that?" Naruto nodded. "Alright, since you know the scene, go ahead and start."

Naruto forced tears to her eyes, sniffling and wiping at the tears as they fell down her cheeks. Her face lit up in a beautiful blush, and she swept some of her bangs into her face. 'Dang the kid's good!' Kisame's eyes widened in shock.

Naruto swept a hand gently across Kisame's cheek and brought her forehead up to meet his. She let out a shaky breath and looked him in the eye, a single tear drifting down her face and dripping on his cheek. Kisame slid his arm around her waist, his large hand covering most of her back. Naruto closed her teary eyes and kissed Kisame slowly, almost hesitantly, at first, as if she were shy, then a few seconds in, the kiss became increasingly desperate.

She pictured that it was Sasuke, that he was injured and preparing himself to go and fight for her; that he was about to die. She cupped Kisame's cheeks in her hands and separated her lips a bit further, slackening them so it wasn't so firm, but kept the pressure building between them. The kiss was quick, only lasting about a minute before Naruto pulled away, crying gently, her shoulders shaking slightly as she opened her eyes and looked at Kisame, heartbreak written across her face. Until she suddenly smiled.

Naruto dragged the sleeve of her shirt across her eyes to dry them and grinned toothily at the dumbstruck expression on Kisame's face. "How was that? Did I do well?"

"I feel like I'm gonna cry kid." Naruto's face fell.

"It was that bad?"

"No! No! Not at all. It's just... I can't wait for this movie to come out now. I can say that I got to help with this part and lord it over anyone that wishes they were in Little Uchiha's spot. Trump card!" There was a loud beeping sound from outside the door, so Kisame pushed his chair back from the desk and helped Naruto down.

"I think you're taller than you thought you were. How big are you Kisame?" The pale man ran a hand through his spiky blue hair while he walked towards the door, Naruto practically jogging along at his side.

"Last time I was measured I was 6' 8", but that was last year, so I might be taller, I'm not sure." Naruto hugged Kisame, her arms barely reaching all the way around his waist while he wrapped one arm around her. "I bet if I walked beside you somewhere we'd get a lot of funny looks."

"We'll have to do that some time then." Naruto nodded to the man and smiled as he walked out the door.

.

Naruto hurried back into Itachi's room after her visit to the bathroom to brush her teeth, but she was suddenly tackled to the ground with a shout of 'Tobi's turn!' and the slamming of a door seconds after when he kicked it shut. Tobi hugged her tightly and then helped her to her feet.

"Well, you sure know how to make an entrance Tobi."

"Mhm! Tobi is excited." Tobi sat down on the floor beside the bed and patted his lap for Naruto to come sit. Naruto eyed him warily, but was just smiled at brightly in return, so she relented and crawled into the man's lap. Tobi's lips were immediately on hers before she had a chance to tense up.

The kiss was short, just a gentle and loving kiss. Tobi smiled warmly at her, and his brown eyes captivated her for a moment. She felt as if she could see his every pain and crack in his heart in the depth of his eyes, before he closed them and kissed her again. He wrapped his arms loosely around her and kissed her once, then twice, then a third time. Each kiss was incredibly soft, and heartrendingly gentle. The way Tobi kissed her, it made her feel precious and breakable.

Naruto looped her arms around his neck and played with his hair, dragging her fingertips gently through the shaggy mess that was styled perfectly on top of Tobi's head. He was almost playing with her, the way he'd brush his lips against hers so that she'd have to lean forward to count it as a real kiss. It was almost... Childish.

He laughed into the kiss, grinning against her lips before he pulled away from her and gave her the best imitation of a kicked puppy she'd ever seen. Naruto felt her heart wrench, and she hugged Tobi tightly, not wanting to let go, until she heard the same beeping sound from before sounding outside the door.

"So, um, Tobi." Naruto stood and held her hand out to Tobi, who held it the entire way to the door, swinging it happily between them. "Feel free to get my number from Itachi. I'd love to have a girl's day out with you, as weird as that sounds. We could watch movies or go to a toy store or something. Sound good?"

Tobi's grin widened by a few teeth and he nodded his head enthusiastically. "Tobi loves making new friends!" Tobi opened the door and sat down on the ground in the hall beside Kisame and Itachi.

"Feel free to come and talk to me any time honey, okay?" Naruto kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair before pushing Deidara into the room by his shoulders and then stepping into the bathroom to clean up.

"Tobi man, what'd you do? She looks like she just watched a kitten get spit on and then hit by a tractor." Kisame eyed Tobi suspiciously.

Tobi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, his voice dropping nearly a full octave from its' normal pitch when he spoke. "Tobi is a very good boy." He winked before stepping into the bathroom once Naruto had gone back into Itachi's room.

"I don't really know what to say to that."

"He's your cousin Itachi."

.

"So I'm actually really nervous about this one. Every time I've done it to Sasuke, he's shoved me out of his bed in disgust."

"You've done what now?"

Naruto laughed nervously. "Nothing! Nothing!" Deidara led her by her hand over to the bed where he sat down beside her.

"Alright. Kisame described to me the kind of kiss this is supposed to be, so you shouldn't have to worry too much about shoving your tongue down Sasuke's throat, yeah. What you do need to worry about is being subtle about it, so that it's there to add realism, but you don't put in too much tongue so that it becomes fake or overly obvious. The tricky part is balance, yeah."

Naruto nodded, watching Deidara intently as he explained what she had to do. "I think I understand, but it sounds difficult."

"Just call me Teach, yeah!" Deidara kissed her suddenly, smiling against her lips playfully. Naruto's laughter was swallowed by the firmness of Deidara's kiss, and she instantly knew that he would be the one to lead her in the session. She felt his tongue lick the seam of her lips, and she broke away with a bright blush lighting up her face. Deidara licked his lips and brought Naruto back up close to him.

"You can't be afraid, yeah. Would you feel better if we moved a little slower? We can both lead this, together, yeah. That'll be what your kiss for the movie'll be like, so it should make sense that we should practice like that, yeah." Naruto nodded and closed her eyes when Deidara's lips connected solidly with hers again. Naruto breathed out through her nose and tilted her head to the side a bit further, sneaking her tongue out to meet Deidara's when he licked her lips again.

Naruto was immediately glad that Deidara wasn't the kind of guy to drool all over everything while he kissed, even if he did have the tip of his tongue wrapped around hers. They took it slow for a few minutes, keeping the kiss in character for what she'd have to do with Sasuke, until Deidara did a roll of his tongue in her mouth that had her eyes shooting open in surprise while he laughed, forcing him to break away from the kiss.

"What was that?!" Naruto stared at Deidara wide eyed while the other blonde laughed it out. Deidara suddenly tackled her down onto the bed, his lips finding hers again in seconds. He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other bent at the elbow to hold his weight to the side of her. Naruto's legs were hanging off the side of the bed, but her arms were around Deidara's neck when the two broke apart, their foreheads resting against one another. When they both opened their blue eyes to look at each other, it suddenly became impossible to not laugh.

The timer beeped loudly outside the door and Deidara frowned.

"Darn. I was having fun, yeah. I guess I'll have to teach you that trick next time then, yeah." Deidara left the room laughing to himself, and Naruto used every ounce of her willpower to make it to the doorway.

"I'm going to take the kids home Itachi. Thanks for having us over. Tell Naruto we all say good luck with her movie Monday and with Mr. Emotionally Constipated." Kisame headed down the hall with Deidara and Tobi in tow. Naruto faced Itachi just as he turned to look her in the eye.

"Last of the day. Step up to the bat as soon as I can wash Deidara out of my mouth."

"Thank you for doing so."

.

"Alright. What was with embarrassing me like that earlier? They don't need to know about our shoujo manga time." Naruto moved the finger that was pointed at her face out of the way, looked up at Itachi with a puppy dog look that rivaled Tobi's, and watched as his resolve crumbled. "Fine then."

"Yay! Okay, so now that I've perfected the approach, the kiss and the balance to build it, I need to perfect the confession and the good bye. Up to you Itachi." Naruto winked playfully.

Itachi sighed, but smiled tiredly at the girl in front of him. "Alright, let's start right before you tell Sasuke that you love him." Naruto nodded before leaning in and kissing Itachi gently like Tobi had showed her. She introduced her tongue slowly, coaxing Itachi to do the same. It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like hours to the two of them. They pulled away at the same time, gazing deeply into each other's eyes.

"I love you Aaron." Naruto ran her hands up onto Itachi's shoulders and breathed out a shaky breath.

Sasuke walked past the open door of Itachi's bedroom on his way to the bathroom, stopping when he saw something that made his heart drop into his stomach and his lungs seize for reasons he didn't understand.

"I love you too." Itachi kissed Naruto, his eyes on his brother the entire time.

* * *

1. I hope you're waiting until next time. Update coming soon. Notes on the next chapter! More reviews come in, the faster the next chapter will come out.

R & R, Love AMB11!


	9. Into The Akatsuki

I'm such an evil person... Mwahahaha! Enjoy this random filler...

**Disclaimer: **

Itachi: We get an entire chapter to ourselves guys.

Deidara: I feel special, un!

Zetsu: We **are **excited... **STOP STARING!**

Kisame: Okay... Ha, I remember this story. Good times!

Sasori: *sigh* Whatever.

Kakuzu: Do I get paid for appearing in this?

Hidan: No you don't f-_smack!_- ...I give up...

Kakuzu: Heheheh...

Tobi: Tobi wants to start!

Itachi: Well, AMB11 doesn't own Naruto.

Author: On with the show! It's Akatsuki time folks.

* * *

Chapter 9: Into The Akatsuki

"I say we let him in. He may be new, but he's got this look to him that just screams Akatsuki, yeah."

"I don't know. Apparently his dad's the new chief of police. That might pose a problem." Kisame kicked his feet up on the desk in front of him and leaned to the side in his chair, the wooden legs creaking under his weight. Deidara flicked his lighter on under his desk, grinning brightly while he observed the dark-haired new comer that was reading at the front of the class.

"Not if he's cool about it, un. Just 'cuz his pop's a stiff doesn't mean he's one too, yeah." Deidara tore a page out of the spiral on his desk and lit the edge on fire, the flame reflecting in his clear blue eyes. "And it's not like everything we do is illegal. Just the fun stuff, yeah." Deidara blew the flame out when it started to smoke. Kisame kicked the girl beside him out of her chair when he caught the blue-haired girl copying off of his assignment.

"Mr. Hoshigake! To the principal's office immediately." The teacher stood up behind his desk, glaring at the enormous teenager at the back of the room from behind his sunglasses.

"Why Teach?" Kisame leaned back farther in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, smiling smugly at the man that was trying his best to seem intimidating.

"You just kicked a student out of their seat during a lesson. Do I need any other reason?" Ebisu pulled his sunglasses off and slammed his hand down on his desk. "Now go before I have to call security to come escort you again!"

"When're you gonna let that go? The kid lived. And anyways Teach, she was cheatin'. You're gonna get me in trouble for keepin' my work to myself?" Deidara bit his lip to keep from laughing and reached below the desks and gave Kisame a high five. "If you're gonna send me, then you should send the instigator too, otherwise it just ain't fair." Kisame smirked at the poor teacher.

Ebisu looked between the pissed-looking girl that was climbing back up into her chair and the teenager that was probably about two and a half times his size. "Ms. Konan, is this true? Were you cheating off of Mr. Hoshigake?"

"Not like it'd do her much good." Kisame elbowed Deidara in the side at his mumbled comment, glaring at the blonde, who was struggling to control himself. Kisame glanced at the clock hanging above the teachers' head before focusing back on the man himself, who was turning red under the strain of not yelling at the two blue-haired students.

"No sir, I wasn't." Konan glared at Kisame out of the corner of her eye, rubbing a sore spot on her arm from where she'd hit the ground.

"Well there you have it. You can't just randomly kick a student-"

"Wait, wait. So, you'll believe her word right off the back without any sort of proof as to whether or not she's lying, but you won't believe Hoshigake's story without definitive proof? That's biased Mr. Ebisu." Itachi smiled politely at his superior, his eyes closed as he spoke. Ebisu's jaw dropped in disbelief at the rebellion of his students. He fell back into the chair behind his desk, fumbling with the keys on his keyboard as he typed something hastily to buy some time. "If you believe one side of the story without being shown any sort of evidence, then you'd of course have to believe the other side to be just as true, even if it is only a 50/50 percent chance that either of them is correct. Besides, in all reality, this whole argument over who is in the wrong and should be punished is more disrupting than the incident was itself from another student's perspective." The raven-haired teen folded his hands and crossed his legs, his gaze making the older man sweat nervously under its' intensity. Ebisu slipped his glasses back on to break the uncomfortable staring contest.

"You-you're absolutely correct Mr. Uchiha. I-it would be... unfair of me to do that. What exactly would you suggest I do then?" Ebisu was testing Itachi, and he knew that the younger man knew as well.

"Well," Itachi smirked over his shoulder at Kisame, "You could always punish them both for the reasons of cheating and injuring another student, but you aren't entirely sure you understand this situation completely. Are you positive that the kick was intentional or that she was indeed cheating?" Ebisu stiffened visibly. "Perhaps Ms. Konan was leaning out of her seat to find something she'd dropped, or stretching when Mr. Hoshigake moved his feet from on top of his desk. He seemed to have been occupied with his conversation with the feminine blonde that's been lighting things on fire for the past hour. It's possible that the entire incident was an accident and that neither is at fault since neither of them is owning up to being at fault. Don't you think that seems likely, Mr. Ebisu?"

The entire class stared at the individual that had just opposed the teacher and had even gone so far as to say he was wrong. Ebisu looked from Itachi, who was smiling smugly, to Kisame and Konan, both of which refused to look at each other, and Deidara, who he'd be sure to grab after class to talk with him about his unhealthy obsession with fire.

"I-it's possible that you could be r-right in saying that neither is at fault, but it's a-also likely that they did-" The bell rang outside the door, the class over for the day. Kisame gathered his things and headed out the door, all of the students giving him a wide berth. He clapped Ebisu soundly on the back with his large hand, laughing at the confused expression on the smaller man's face before heading out into the hallway to get a few things from his locker for his weekend assignments.

Deidara hurried after his friend, gasping for breath when he'd finally gotten away from Ebisu, who'd chased him halfway down the hallway screaming something about arson and how it was illegal.

Deidara jumped to hit Kisame on the back of the head, the laughter he'd been holding in since Kisame had kicked Konan over finally spilling out loudly. The two hurried out the front of the high school and towards the gate to wait for the new kid.

Itachi stopped his skateboard when he saw Kisame and the blonde from his class waiting at the gate. He flipped the board up into his hands when they pushed their way through the crowd when they'd spotted him. He relaxed under the shade of the tree he'd stopped beside, choosing to just wait where he was rather than fight his way through the people rushing off of the campus and into the weekend they'd been craving since 8am Monday morning.

Kisame made it to Itachi first, most of the crowd parting to let him through after he'd pushed one of the cheerleaders into a rose bush on the side of the stone pathway. Deidara squeezed out of the crowd behind the giant, bursting into another round of laughter when he finally saw Itachi face-to-face.

"Thanks back there kid. I'd have gotten suspended for sure, this being my 13th offense and all." Kisame held his hand out to the older Uchiha, who shook the much larger hand with his own politely. Deidara hugged Itachi tightly, ruffling his messy dark hair before he was finally pried off of the choking boy by Kisame. Deidara struggled to get back down to the ground, Kisame's arms locked around his shoulders, keeping the blonde nearly half a foot off of the ground.

Itachi flipped his hair back into place, running his hand through the shaggy mess before smiling at the two idiots in front of him. He crossed his arms across his chest and pushed his glasses up on his nose, his gaze boring a hole in the ground at Kisame's feet. "No problem. I haven't gotten to mess with the teachers since I've been here yet, and you just provided me the perfect chance to screw with him a bit."

Kisame finally dropped Deidara to the ground, the blonde immediately jumping back to his feet with a crooked smile lighting up his face. "Name's Deidara, by the way, yeah. I haven't officially met you yet, Uchiha." Deidara slung his arm around Itachi's shoulder.

"Is he always this eccentric?" Itachi pushed Deidara away, palm flat against the blonde's face, when he tried to kiss him on the cheek in greeting.

"What can I say? Kid's foreign. Must be a customary thing." Kisame walked around Itachi, examining the short male quickly before stopping in front of him again, Deidara still leeched to the smaller man tightly. "You're a little thing, aren't you?"

Itachi sighed and elbowed Deidara hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs. "Maybe I'm not short. You're just freakishly tall in case you haven't noticed."

"Got a mouth on you too, kid." Kisame put his hand on top of Itachi's head, the palm covering the entirety of Itachi's crown, and ruffled his hair until Itachi smacked the hand away. "I like you kid. You busy today?"

"Not really." Deidara stole the skateboard from Itachi's hands, running his fingers over the hand-crafted black and white explosion decoupage design on the back in appreciation.

"Nice board, un. I really like the red center piece with the three tomoe in the middle. It really draws your eye, yeah. You do this?" Itachi nodded, glad that someone, even if it was the psychotic kid that had been burning paper in class, appreciated all of the work he'd put into decorating his board.

Kisame put his arm around the blonde's shoulder and crushed him against his side, laughing heartily. "This kid'll talk your ear off about pottery if you let him." Deidara handed the board back to Itachi, who slung it around his shoulders, brushing off the sleeve of his blazer when a bit of dirt fell off of the wheel.

"So, you wanna hang out with our crew since you probably don't know too many people around here yet?"

Itachi pushed his glasses up and loosened the tie around his neck while he thought. "Sure, why not. You guys want to come back to my place for the afternoon?"

"Sounds great, yeah. We're a big group though, un. You got room?"

Itachi smirked deviously. "Not a problem."

. . . . .

"You weren't freakin' kidding us kid. This place makes me feel small." The group of eight made their way up the driveway, Itachi at the front of the pack as they passed the enormous garden and fountain to the right of the cobblestone path once they'd made it past the padlocked gates at the entrance.

"You get used to it. This place is smaller than my last house. We downgraded after my mom left." Itachi waved at the camera that was hanging from the arch above the much smaller gate right in front of the grand front doors. He threw his skateboard off to the side of the porch, frowning in irritation when it hit the side of the four-car garage. The doors opened for the large group of teens, Itachi walking up the concrete stairs while the boys behind him followed up a bit more slowly.

"Kisame, still have any doubts about letting him in Akatsuki, yeah?" Deidara elbowed the large 14 year old, grinning crookedly in amusement. Kisame just shook his head, following the short raven-haired teen into the foyer, a little cautious at walking on the polished marble floors.

"So, you guys want to tell me your names? I don't know most of you." Itachi turned to his left at the end of the foyer and headed up the curving staircase, fiddling with his key ring until he'd reached the first landing. He ran his hand daintily along the ornate banister, taking the stairs two at a time until he turned off at the next landing and waited for the group that he'd met outside of the school gate's after he'd accepted Kisame's invitation.

"Well, most of them don't really like to talk, and the one that does, you really won't want to, so I'll introduce everybody for you, yeah." Deidara ducked when the extremely pale teen beside him smacked out at him, cursing loudly in the process. "Told ya you wouldn't want him to talk, yeah. Well, Toilet Mouth here is Hidan. Redhead Shorty McGee over there is Sasori, un." Sasori stared blankly at Deidara, the slight twitch of his brow indicating he was contemplating throttling the blonde for the short comment, even if he did only come up to the shoulders of the rest of the group.

Itachi turned the corner, his shoes squeaking slightly on the floor when the carpet ran into the beginning of the hardwood flooring. "Nice to meet you. At least this means I'm not the smallest one here." Itachi patted Sasori on the shoulder in sympathy, but just received a bored stare in response.

"The creeper is Kakuzu. Don't let him see your wallet if he asks, yeah." Deidara whispered the last part into Itachi's ear while pointing at Kakuzu, who had a hood pulled over his head and a scarf wrapped around his neck, over his shoulder. "And finally is Zetsu-wait. Where's Zetsu? He followed us in, un."

Sasori sighed and headed back down the hallway they'd come from, dragging back a scary looking young man that was holding the flower vase from the foyer back to the group just as Itachi opened the door to his room to let the group inside.

"Why do you have that Zetsu?" Kisame asked, sticking his head into the doorway to look around the room that seemed much too large to be considered a bedroom.

"It's **our **friend..." Zetsu petted the petals on the tulip in the vase gently, smiling despite the nervous twitch that shook his head to the left every few seconds.

"You took your meds at lunch, right?" Zetsu nodded, staring intently at the flowers while he sat down in the corner of the room, the green highlights in his shaggy hair glowing a luminescent green when he moved into a shadow.

"Yeah... Well... That's Zetsu, yeah. He's pretty cool when you catch him on a good day, un."

"Alright then, it's nice to meet all of you. Take a seat and make yourselves comfortable. I have to inform my father that I'm home and then I'll have someone bring something up for all of us." Itachi walked out into the hall and flipped the buzzer on the intercom system, selecting his father's study from the selection on the panel. "I'm home, and I've brought a few guests."

_"Alright. Do I need to have extra places set for them at supper?" _Fugaku's voice crackled out over the speaker. Itachi turned to the open door to his room, each of his guests nodding, a few more enthusiastically than others in response to Fugaku's question.

"Yes please, Father. Thank you. Do you think you could ask the kitchen staff to send something up to tide us over for a while? I'll take some to Sasuke."

_"Hn."_ The system went quiet after the curt response, and Itachi headed back to his room, joining the circle the guys has formed on the thick carpet in the middle of the room. Itachi flicked the radio on from the universal remote he'd taken from the dresser beside the door and then crossed his legs in front of him, waiting for one of his guests to make what was bound to be a ridiculous comment about something they'd seen since they'd arrived.

"Who's Sasuke?" Itachi blinked when Kisame piped up from across the room where he was playing with a rubik's cube he'd plucked off of the desk built into the wall. Now that was a question he hadn't expected.

"He's my younger brother."

"You have a little brother! How cute, yeah. Does he look like you?" Deidara was lying on his stomach across from Itachi in the circle, his head resting on top of his arms, his long blonde hair billowing out onto the floor around him.

"You'll get to see him at dinner I guess, so you can tell me then. A lot of people tell us we look alike, but I've never seen it."

"Itachi! Where are you, Itachi? Ms. Anko told me to bring this stuff to you since she didn't want to climb the stairs." Sasuke pushed the door to Itachi's room open with his shoulder and backed into the room, a large silver tray full of homemade snacks in his arms. Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw the room full of people. "Who're the thugs?" Itachi poked his brother in the forehead and took the tray from his hands while Sasuke rubbed at the red spot, glaring down on his older brother.

"Your kid brother is taller than you?" Kisame chucked the rubik's cube onto Itachi's bed, frustrated when he couldn't get more than two sides done. Sasori coughed lightly, an incredibly slight smile breaking across his lips that he tried to hide behind his hand.

"You got Pinocchio to smile! Congrats Fish Face." Hidan swung his legs over the back of the couch that was up against the wall between the two floor-to-ceiling windows and hung his head over the front of the cushions so that he was upside down, all of the blood rushing down to his head. The albino cussed loudly when Sasori kicked him in the side of the head and he fell to the ground with a loud thud, swearing enough to put a sailor to shame.

"Watch it, there's a kid in here!" Kisame sat down on top of Hidan, who was the closest to him in size but no where near big enough to heave the blue-haired giant off of him, to get him to be quiet. "So, how old are you kiddo?"

Sasuke leaned against the door frame and shoved his hands in the pockets of his junior high uniform issue pants. "I'm a year under you all, but I just turned 14. I'm still at the junior high though; 8th grade."

"You're a bit old to be in the junior school, don't you think? Most of the 9th grade are your age. Heck, you're as old as me just about." Kisame smiled brightly, and Itachi noticed that he'd had his teeth filed to points in the front.

"I got held back because my birthday is late in the year. Two years of kindergarten though. Yahoo!" Sasuke pumped his fist halfheartedly and rolled his eyes, his head rolling onto the frame above his shoulder. "Itachi turns 16 this summer though."

"You're that old, yeah?" Deidara shoved a handful of cake into his mouth, finishing his sentence while he licked the frosting off of his fingers.

"Yeah. I lived in Japan for a few years with my mother while she fought for custody over me right after I turned thirteen. I just got back a week ago, which is why I'm starting classes here halfway through the second semester. My father sent me to the 9th grade instead of the 10th when I moved back to the US in an attempt to put me on level with what I'd been studying before since I was in a special learning program abroad. I wasn't mainstreamed, more like privately taught, and I got a level behind in my studies." Itachi shooed his brother out the door and shut it behind him and turned around to see Deidara staring at him intently.

"Would you take your glasses off for a second Itachi?" Deidara stood up after wiping his hands off on a napkin and walked behind Itachi, pulling the hair tie that was holding up half of his hair out of the thick blonde tresses, and stretching it around his wrist.

"Why?" Itachi slid his glasses off of his nose and folded them up gently. Deidara pulled Itachi's hair back behind his head, parting his bangs slightly off center in the process. The blonde tied the silky mass of dark hair back with his hair tie loosely at the base of Itachi's neck and hurried back around to his front.

"Much better, yeah!" Deidara scurried back over to the snacks, most of which had been scarfed by Kisame and Hidan in his absence. Itachi peeked at himself in the mirror behind him from under his bangs, his eyes widening at the drastic change.

"Woah..."

"Great improvement kid. Your hair was driving me nuts. If you're gonna be one of us, you've gotta have the look." Kisame finished off the pita chips and spun around in the desk chair he'd pulled over to the group to face Itachi.

"Excuse me?"

"We're known as the Akatsuki by most people." Kakuzu pocketed a small knickknack from Itachi's bookshelf while he spoke, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was stealing something that was worth quite a bit of money.

"We're a gang." Sasori looked up at Itachi from his side, his voice quiet and monotone. "Not necessarily dangerous to others beside ourselves, but well known anyways."

"We've all got a specific look or characteristic about us that make us odd-balls in a group. Ever seen that one Christmas special... Well, whatever. We're like the band of misfits. I'm a 6'2" fourteen year old with blue hair and naturally pointed teeth for God's-sake. It's hard to make friends." Itachi felt a bit of pity stab at his chest for the odd-looking giant.

"I'm 4'5" and not much interests me, but these guys don't bore me, so I can put up with them." That was the most emotion Itachi had seen from Sasori yet, and he was glad that the kid at least had his people that understood him well.

"I've got a green card, which I'm surprised hasn't been taken away yet considering how many acts of arson I've been accused of, yeah. Plus, I kinda look like a male version of Barbie, un. One can only take so many gay guys trying to pick you up when you're straight, yeah." Somehow, the fact that gay men hit on Deidara didn't surprise Itachi as much as the fact that Deidara himself wasn't gay. "Kakuzu over there was voted "Most Likely To Be Sent To Prison For Robbing A Swiss Bank" as a second grader, yeah." Deidara cracked up at his own statement, Kisame joining in heartily afterward.

"Hidan has a difficult time saying a single sentence without cussing. That and he's so white he glows under black lights." Kakuzu flipped through a wallet that Itachi didn't recognize, but immediately associated with the albino teen when Hidan lunged at Kakuzu, swearing his head off.

"And Zetsu over there talks to himself more often than anyone else. At least he's always got somebody to talk to." Kisame spun around in the wheeled chair once more. "And you, kid. You look like a model, but you hide behind your hair and glasses, why? You could fit into any social group you wanted looking like that."

"I'm weird looking in my own way. Plus I've got a bit of a smart mouth." Itachi's eyes were downcast, his bangs shadowing his face as he leaned against the door behind him.

"How come you won't look at any of us, yeah? Now that you mention it, you never look at anybody. We know Kisame's ugly, but it isn't that bad, un." Kisame smacked Deidara over the head, smiling when the blonde complained about his hair.

Itachi smiled and laughed breathily, running his fingers through his bangs, pinning them back against his head. He tilted his head up, locking eyes with the blonde, who flinched when blood-red met ice-blue. Deidara scrambled backwards a few steps, his eyes still hypnotically locked on Itachi's. The blonde swallowed thickly.

"Holy crap." Itachi glanced at Kisame, who immediately shivered under the intensity of Itachi's gaze, even if it was only for a split second. "So that's why Ebisu put his glasses on before looking at you."

"It scares the living crap out of most people." Itachi dropped his bangs, but kept his gaze trained on the people around the room, flitting between each of them. "Except girls. Apparently I look like a vampire or something." Kisame laughed, and the awkward silence was broken, the atmosphere becoming comfortable once again.

"I think it's freakin' awesome, yeah!" Deidara smiled lopsidedly at Itachi. "I'd say it qualifies, Kisame. Remind me to never challenge you to a staring contest though, yeah. It's like you hypnotize people."

"Welcome to the Akatsuki kid!" Itachi's smile brightened.

. . . . .

End Chapter 9

* * *

1. Really sorry about everything with this chapter! I got back my computer for 30 minutes to type a report for a summer assignment for my AP English class, and used 10 minutes of it to go back through this really quickly and fix the mistakes that I saw.

2. The next chapter will be out as soon as I can get a chance to write it folks. I apologize again!

3. And to answer a question I got in a review for this chapter, neither of them have the 'Sharingan'. Sasuke has dark eyes like Fugaku, and I'm going with the story that Itachi has his mother's eyes, which are just a very unnerving blood-red color.

4. And yes! Everyone in this fic is straight... So far... You'll have to wait and find out what I mean later ;)

Feeling a bit better now that I've fixed this chapter a bit and gotten my rant in, Love AMB11! R & R!


	10. Where Does It Hurt?

Hey! So, it's been a while, and I hope that some of you are still with me here! I got my computer back, finally. I just had to win a bet with my father. Does anyone know how hard it is to read a 587 page book that you absolutely hate in less than 5 hours? Just saying.

So I realize that some of you are probably ready to throttle me for leaving it a cliffhanger and then putting in a random flashback filler without saying anything about what happened during the situation in the chapter before it. Don't kill me! You still need me for updates! AHHHHHHH! -Buzz- ...We'll be right back.

Thank you for waiting! As a last message, I'm now available to be a beta-reader, so if you're looking for one, keep me in mind!

**Disclaimer: **

Sasuke: Finally! I've been waiting for this page of the script for days.

Naruto: Why? You nervous about losing me to Itachi?

Sasuke: Don't be stupid. I heard from the author I get to eat tomatoes this chapter and I wanted to confirm it. *Gasp* She lied!

Naruto: *crushes Sasuke's foot with the heel of her boot* Jerk!

Sasuke: Dangit woman! This hurts almost as bad as the fact that AMB11 doesn't own Naruto.

Naruto: She paid you extra to say that, didn't she.

Sasuke: Check it, $50.

Naruto: I call $25. I showed up for this crap too, jerk.

Sasuke: Idiot.

Naruto: ...I love you!

Sasuke: Stop saying that! *runs away*

* * *

Chapter 10: Where Does It Hurt?

Sasuke took a step back when his brother's eyes closed and hid behind the door frame. He clutched the hem of his shirt in his fist, fighting off the shaking of his hands. "What was that?" Sasuke fell back against the wall, his head hitting the plaster with a dull thunk. He stared blankly at the wall in front of him for a few minutes, blocking out Naruto's excited voice from the other side of the open door.

"She loves Itachi? What happened to being in love with me? Itachi-He said that she loved me because I'm me." His chest hurt and his legs felt weak. "Was he lying?" He peeked around the edge of the door and saw Naruto hugging his brother. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to hit the older Uchiha over the head with a crowbar.

Itachi ran a hand gently up and down Naruto's back, his fingers tangling in her long hair occasionally. She was so proud of herself, and he was glad he could help. He was even more glad that Sasuke had such bad timing.

He saw Sasuke peek around the doorway, his face contorted in pain and confusion. He looked betrayed; hurt. Itachi was torn between sticking his tongue out at Sasuke and apologizing and explaining the whole situation. Naruto pulled away from his arms and smiled brightly at him, jumping up from the bed.

"I feel so much better now." She locked her hands behind her back and bowed her head playfully. "Thank you Uchiha-sensei." Itachi suddenly wished that she hadn't gotten out of his bed to say that. "I'm going to go memorize my lines. See ya later, Itachi." She walked out of the room, thinking about how impressed Sasuke was going to be when she told him she'd perfected their big scene. She rounded the corner and stepped out into the hallway, humming a tune from some movie she'd watched a few days ago.

"Sasuke?" He looked up when the small blonde put a hand on his arm. "You okay? You look like you're going to be sick." She stood on her tiptoes and put her hand on his forehead.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired." Sasuke rubbed his eyes and stepped around Naruto.

"Oh! Sasuke, Itachi and I were just-"

"I know." He didn't turn around as he spoke. He shuffled his feet on the carpet, hands jammed down in his pockets to keep from shaking in fury. "I saw." He clenched his teeth so hard he swore he heard one crack.

"Really? How was it?" Sasuke turned his head to look at the excited blonde behind him and smiled slightly at her exuberance.

"Looked heartbreaking." Naruto squealed loudly and ran down the hall, skirting the corner. Her bedroom door shut a minute later, and Sasuke barged into his brother's room, slamming the door so hard into the wall that it left a circular indent on the white plaster. Itachi jumped to his feet and glared at his younger brother, his furious red eyes boiling like blood.

"What the heck Sasuke?! What's your problem?" He'd just barely gotten the question out before he was slammed against the wall behind him, Sasuke's shoulder buried in his stomach.

"My problem?! She loves ME, huh? Then what the heck was that?" Sasuke tried to push his brother to the ground, but Itachi viciously kicked his ankle, both of them dragging the other to the ground. The older Uchiha punched the younger in the stomach and rolled over so that he was pinning him down. Sasuke kneed Itachi in the thigh just to the left of his groin and heaved the young man off of him, switching their positions so that he was pinning Itachi.

"Why do you care?" Itachi swung his fist, clipping Sasuke's shoulder. "You don't even like her!" Itachi landed a punch on Sasuke's cheek, and a drop of blood dripped from where his lip had cracked.

"That doesn't matter. She's committed to me!" Sasuke pulled Itachi up to his face by the collar of his shirt and punched him at the bridge of his nose. Blood gushed down Itachi's lips and over his chin, his eyes tearing up.

"You don't own her, you idiot!" Itachi kneed Sasuke just below his stomach, cringing when a bit of urine leaked through the boys' jeans and onto his shirt.

"Might as well." He punched Itachi again, his short nails leaving scratches on his brother's cheek. "She said she loves ME!" Itachi wrapped his hands around Sasuke's throat. "She's got my name branded on her until I say otherwise."

"Don't be an idiot!" He tightened his grip, and he just knew that there'd be bruises later. "You can't control her. She can do whatever she wants with whoever she wants! And if that were me, you couldn't do one thing to stop her!" Sasuke punched him again, this time in the throat. Itachi heaved his brother off of him and rushed to his feet, feeling bile rise to his throat from the dizziness of his blood loss. He pinched the bridge of his nose and flinched; not broken, but painful. Blood dripped down his chin and stained the carpet under his feet. Sasuke got to his feet, swaying just a bit as he tried to get a deep breath, his asthma acting up and constricting his airway.

Itachi tackled his brother, slamming him to the ground with his body weight. Sasuke coughed throatily, and jammed his forearm into Itachi's chest to hold him at arms length. Black spots flickered in front of Sasuke's vision from lack of air that was getting to his spasming lungs. He wheezed heavily and brought his knees up to his chest. He kicked out, his heavy boots knocking the air from Itachi's lungs and knocking him to the ground.

Sasuke fell back to the ground on his back, blood pooling under his cracked lips and a cut stretching across his cheek. He put a hand to his chest and tried to keep his vision from blurring over. Itachi got to his knees beside him, so he sat up to face him.

"I... Don't... Share..." Sasuke wheezed out the short sentence, trying his hardest to keep from slurring his words. "She wants... Me... Can't... Change... Her mind..." Itachi's scowl softened at the suffering boy, and he pinched the bridge of his nose, tilting his head back to stop the blood flow before he passed out.

"You're an idiot, you know that right." Itachi wasn't sure that Sasuke had even heard what he said properly, but was pleased nevertheless when he nodded anyway. "If you want her, just tell her." Itachi crawled over to his bedside table slowly and opened the bottom drawer, rummaging around until he found a spare inhaler that had been buried under random junk for the past few years. He tossed it in the general direction of his brother, then pulled his over shirt off over his head with some difficulty and held the cloth to his nose, some blood stains standing out against the white of his undershirt.

Sasuke closed his fingers around the inhaler and took a few puffs, doing every exercise he could remember to calm his breathing and get rid of the painful tightness in his chest. "T-thanks."

"No problem, moron." Itachi wiped the last bit of fresh blood from his nose and smiled, dried blood above his lip cracking on his skin. "Like I said Sasuke, you just need to tell her you like her."

His breathing was still labored, but Sasuke wasn't having as much trouble breathing as before. He raised the inhaler to his lips and took another breath of the medicinal spray. "I told you, I... don't like her... She's just not... allowed to change... her mind now... that she's... committed to... me." Sasuke's dark eyes locked with his brother's abnormally colored ones, and Itachi could see the confusion and hurt spiraling in the hooded gaze. He put a hand on his brother's back and pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back gently, occasionally patting when Sasuke would cough a bit too deeply.

"She came to me to get help with something last night, after you told her that she needed to work on her kissing." Sasuke stiffened in his arms, and Itachi closed his eyes, rocking from side-to-side slowly. "I offered to help her practice the scene the director told you seemed fake so that she'd be able to impress you on Monday." Another coughing fit racked Sasuke's body, and Itachi felt a few tears streak down his face when he realized that even though Sasuke had started the fight, he could've possibly put Sasuke in the hospital because of his temper. "Besides, you know I love you too much to do something like that to you." Sasuke was silent for a while, but his arms slowly wrapped around Itachi's waist and held him tightly while he cried into his shoulder.

"Yeah. I know." Itachi hugged his little brother tighter, smearing blood and tears on Sasuke's gray button up t-shirt, his shoulders shaking with the effort of not sobbing at hurting Sasuke so badly that he'd go so far as to beat the crap out of him. "We're idiots." The brothers pulled apart and looked at each other, Itachi wiping his cheeks and Sasuke sniffling and coughing.

"Yes, we are." Itachi chuckled breathily and smiled so wide that even his eyes glinted in amusement.

"Remember though," Itachi looked his brother in the eye, "She's mine because she said she was. She's not getting out of it any time soon. I don't like quitters."

Itachi raised a bloody hand and poked Sasuke in the forehead. "Whatever you say, foolish little brother."

"This never happened." Sasuke flicked Itachi on the shoulder.

"Agreed." Itachi stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

* * *

"What happened to you guys?" Itachi and Sasuke plopped ungracefully into their seats at the dinner table. Itachi glared tiredly at his father, his eyes hooded behind his glasses. His hair was wet and hanging around his face and shoulders. His head lolled forward on his shoulders, and it dropped to the table, his forehead hitting it with a bang. Sasuke slumped in his seat, head hanging on on the back of his chair. He let out a low groan and leered at Fugaku out of the corner of his eyes.

"Did you two get into a fight? You're both all beat up." Minato set a large bowl of salad on the table and sat down in his seat just as Naruto slipped into the room. She hurried around the table and sat down in her chair between her father and Sasuke.

"Sasuke? What happened to your neck?" She put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but pulled it away as if she'd been burned when he flinched in pain. Naruto raised the short sleeve of his shirt, and immediately felt sick when she saw the dark blue skin on Sasuke's collarbone. "Oh my God. What happened?"

"Sasuke and I just had a little tousle. No big deal." Itachi forced his aching spine into a sitting position, his glasses sitting low on his nose under a strip of tape across the bridge.

"Did he break your nose?" Minato hid his amused smile behind his glass of tea. Itachi glared halfheartedly at the blonde and his father when they started laughing at his expense.

"Of course not, it's just swollen." Itachi kicked his brother under the table and smirked when Sasuke grimaced.

"You poor things." Naruto ran a hand through Sasuke's hair, smiling when he leaned into the soft touch instead of slapping her hand away like usual. "You have to film in two days, Sasuke. How are you going to do that looking like this?" Sasuke and Itachi hung their heads wordlessly in shame.

"You two are idiots." Sasuke and Itachi looked at each other.

"Yeah, we know."

. . . . . .

"Do you need some help?" Sasuke stopped on the third stair when he heard Naruto's voice behind him.

"Why would you think that?" He glared over his shoulder at her, the bruises on his neck aching from the strain.

"You left the dinner table over fifteen minutes before me and you're just now on the third step." Sasuke sighed and nodded, blushing from embarrassment at not being able to climb the stairs. He scooted over a bit to make room beside him on the stairwell and leaned heavily on the banister to keep the weight off of his swollen ankle. Naruto put his arm around her shoulder and helped him up the next step slowly. "You're heavy, you know that?"

"Sorry that I can't change gravity to make myself easier to carry." Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto dropped his arm, and Sasuke nearly fell down the stairs, latching on tightly to the handrail. "What are you-"

"If you're not going to be nice, then I guess you don't really want my help." She crossed her arms in front of her and started climbing the stairs slowly. She'd almost made it to the next landing before she heard a gruff "Wait" from the man in the stairwell. She turned to look at him, and felt her heart wrench at the pained look on his face.

Naruto tapped her foot impatiently on the step, but when Sasuke didn't make any move to say anything else, she sighed and headed back down towards him. She wrapped an arm around his waist and his around her shoulder again.

"But, I didn't ask-"

"But you wanted to, and that's enough for me." They made it up another step, then another, and finally to the landing of the second floor. "This really sucks for you. What exactly happened to your leg?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and forced himself up another step, his chest contracting painfully from all of the bruises littering his torso. "Itachi kicked my ankle during the fight."

"I see." They made it up the third to last step. "Why were you fighting?" One more to go.

"He took something from me, something I don't want to lose." The pair heaved themselves up the final step, and Naruto relaxed, moving to let Sasuke walk back to his room by himself. Sasuke tightened his grip around her shoulder and started limping down the hall, a surprised Naruto taking as much of his weight as she could. The silence was comfortable, even if it did drag on because of the slow pace.

"Put me down, Minato! I didn't ask for this! Let me go!" There was a sudden rush of air as Minato ran past the two in the hallway, Itachi thrown mercilessly over his shoulder. The odd pair turned the corner, Fugaku walking calmly past Sasuke and Naruto, hands in his pockets and a wide grin stretching across his face until he disappeared around the corner as well. Itachi's shouting eventually faded into the awkward silence in the hallway.

"You saw that too, right?"

"You mean my dad carrying Itachi around? Yeah, I saw it."

"Good, at least this means I don't have a concussion."

"You know, you're brother's really pretty."

"He did look kind of like a girl, didn't he?" The two continued their slow pace down the hall to Sasuke's room, the silence broken, but the atmosphere just as comfortable as before.

. . . . . .

"Come on, say it!" Sasuke glared at the girl helping him stand and shook his head. "Oh, come on. I promised I'd fix you up so you might be presentable for shooting on Monday if you said it. It's just a few little words." Naruto pouted at the stoic young man.

Sasuke sighed in exasperation. "Fine, but I get to choose what we watch on TV while we rehearse later." He paused to look Naruto in the eye. "_Thank you_." He narrowed his eyes, his dark eyebrows knitting together in annoyance.

"Good boy. Now sit!" He heard the smack to his backside more than he felt it, but he stumbled the last two steps to his bed hurriedly anyway. "Alright, do you guys have a first aid kit in the house somewhere?"

Sasuke scooted farther back on his bed and rapped his fingers quietly on the edge of the mattress. "Bathroom on this floor, under the sink."

"Be right back." He watched her skip out of the room with a smile on his face. He tried to rotate his arm, but only got it raised a few inches before he felt something grating painfully in his shoulder. He swore quietly to himself while he undid a few buttons on the top of his shirt to look at his right shoulder. A nasty purple bruise was spread across the skin, which felt warm to the touch. There was a large bump just above his shoulder blade, and when he pressed on it, white-hot agony rippled along every nerve ending in his arm. He grit his teeth and wiped his left hand over the wet streaks on his cheeks.

"Found it." Naruto shut the door behind her and then hurried over to where Sasuke was sitting on his bed. "Where does it hurt?"

"It's mainly my shoulder. I think it's dislocated." Sasuke brushed his shirt away from the sensitive skin on his shoulder and grimaced at the sight again. Naruto leaned over his shoulder, her breath blowing out in warm gusts on his neck, and he shivered.

"Yeah, I think you're right. Go ahead and take your shirt off and I'll reset it." Naruto dropped the box beside Sasuke on the bed and helped him undo the last few buttons on his gray shirt and slid his arms through the sleeves with a bit of difficulty. Naruto dropped the shirt in the laundry basket inside of Sasuke's closet then left the room for a bit, returning a moment later with a small dish, which he recognized as the soap dish from the bathroom, full of water and a wash cloth.

"What's that for?" Sasuke took the cloth from Naruto when she handed it to him. She set the dish on the bedside table and turned back to face Sasuke, tying her hair behind her head with a hair tie she stole from Itachi's drawer in the bathroom.

"Put it between your teeth." She leaned over his shoulder again, running her cold hands along the feverish skin on his shoulder, poking a few spots randomly.

"Why would I do that?" Naruto sighed wearily.

"Just trust me." She seemed tired, and Sasuke wondered if it was because of him. Was it a pain to take care of him? 'Would she rather be taking care of Itachi?' The thought brought a bitter taste to his mouth.

Sasuke put the cloth between his teeth and bit down, feeling stupid when she looked at him with an amused glint in her eyes. She hugged him, or at least that felt like what she was doing until she put her knee down on the bed between his legs to get leverage. Sasuke's eyes widened when her knee brushed against his inner thigh, and he was grateful for the stupid towel when it blocked out the groan that leaked from between his lips.

Naruto's arm slid around his neck and she pressed the palm of her hand flat against the bump on his shoulder blade. Her other hand gripped tightly on his bicep, her fingers not even coming close to wrapping all the way around it, and he felt a swell in his manly pride at the fact.

"How the heck did you not notice this sooner?" Her breasts brushed against his chest when she laughed, and Sasuke tried his hardest to ignore the bare skin of her neck that was right in front of him. She pulled a bit on his arm, and every thought except for the ones attributed to pain fled from his mind. He swore, the word muffled by the towel clenched tightly between his teeth. "Sorry. Ready?" Sasuke nodded the best he could.

Naruto pulled his arm at an angle, applying quick and steady pressure to the spot on his back, and there was a loud crack that had Naruto gritting her own teeth in discomfort. Sasuke clenched his eyes shut, tears leaking out of the corners and down his cheeks. He breathed in a shaky breath and let it out slowly, biting down hard; now he knew why the towel was necessary.

Naruto rubbed the spot gently, searching for anything that was out of place, pleased when she found that it was as fixed as it was going to get. "Alright, it's set, but I'm going to need you to rotate it a few times and tell me how the motor function is." Naruto cupped his cheek gently to get him to look at her, and took the towel from his mouth once he had.

"How'd you know how to do that?" Sasuke moved his arm just a bit, and it already felt a whole lot better without the grating bone. He made one full rotation with his arm, grimacing at the soreness, but he felt that it was about as good as it was going to get for the time being. Naruto dipped the end of the towel into the dish of water she'd brought and ran it along the shallow cut on his cheek.

"I got beat up a lot when I was little. My mom or dad would always end up patching me up since we couldn't afford a visit to the hospital." She finished cleaning his face in silence. She set the bloodied towel in the water dish and knelt down on the ground in front of him. "Could you hand me the first aid kit?" Sasuke dropped the box in her lap, and rubbed gently at his neck, turning his arm occasionally to get used to the feeling of being sore so it wouldn't be so bad in the morning.

She pulled Sasuke's boots off as gently as she could, grateful that they unlaced all the way down. Sasuke leaned back, putting his weight on his left arm. He felt her fingertip brush the leg of his pants up his shin until it was bunched up under his knee.

"Could you spread your legs a little?" Sasuke blushed bright red, realizing what she'd asked while kneeling in front of him. 'Oh God, my mind's in the gutter.'

"Y-yeah, sure." Sasuke laid down on his back and did as he'd been instructed, covering his red face with his hands. She pushed the leg of his pants up over his knee to keep it up and ran her hands up and down his shin, inspecting a few of the larger bruises, glad that none of them were serious. Naruto slipped his black sock off of his foot and turned his ankle a bit.

"This, I might not be able to fix. I think you fractured it. You may have to see a doctor tomorrow." Her hands were so cold on his ankle, and it felt incredibly good; like an ice pack. She twisted his foot just the slightest bit. "Where does it hurt?"

Sasuke sat up and leaned down to inspect his ankle. "Around here mainly, but it only hurts when I apply pressure, like when I stand." He pointed at a spot that was a bit darker than the surrounding bruising.

Naruto kissed the spot gently, just barely brushing her lips against the spot, then smiled up at Sasuke. "That's all I can do for now. I'll wrap it up the best I can until you can see someone about it. Let me look at your stomach too, you've got some swelling around that area. Do you mind?" Naruto stood and pushed Sasuke down to his back, and handed him the TV remote, laughing quietly to herself. "Entertain yourself, this may take a while."

"Tch." Sasuke cross his arm behind his head and flicked the television hanging on the wall across the room on, immediately flicking through channels. He winced on occasion whenever Naruto would tighten the bindings around his ankle, but he prided himself on not making a single sound throughout the entire process. Naruto ran her hands up between his legs, using his thighs to help her stand, and he strained to keep his eyes on the TV and not on the feminine hands that were inches from a place that very much wished they would climb a little higher on his legs.

She pressed around on his hips for a minute before moving up to the bare skin of his stomach, and he secretly wondered if she was still trying to help or if this had become an excuse to sexually harass him. When the tips of her thumbs slid just under the waist band of his jeans and pressed down, he realized he suddenly didn't care. "Where does it hurt?"

Naruto's hands moved back up and pressed around a few more places until she pushed down just under his naval, and his abs convulsed from the sudden pain. "What was that?! It didn't hurt before?" Sasuke tried to sit up, but Naruto's hand on his chest held him down for a moment longer.

"Have you had any trouble peeing?" Sasuke blushed, but shook his head anyway. "Did you take a hit here?" This time he nodded. "That explains it then. I was worried that you might've torn something, but I think it's alright. Let me wrap it so there's some pressure on it and you should be alright in a few days. I'm going to need you to sit up for a minute."

Sasuke sighed, but sat up anyways. Naruto scooted closer to him, her chest against his crotch, his legs spread wide so she could fit between them, and he blushed for the umpteenth time at the suggestive position. She pressed the end of the roll of gauze to the spot she'd pressed down on and had him hold it while she leaned even farther forward to wrap it around him a few times.

"You know, I'm going to kill Itachi after I'm done here." She cut the end of the gauze with a small pair of scissors and taped it so it'd stay down. She patted the tops of his legs and stood, stretching her back until several vertebrae popped.

"Feel free to, but make sure you do it before you take care of him so all of your work doesn't go to waste."

"I'm not taking care of Itachi. He said the fight was his fault and that he started it. Besides, my father has better medical knowledge than me anyway and offered to fix him up so I could help you out." Sasuke's heart dropped into his stomach. Itachi took the blame for him so Naruto wouldn't be mad.

"I see..." Sasuke frowned deeply until Naruto cupped his face in her hands and leaned in close. "What're you-"

"You split your lip." Her face was pink, and he wondered why it was now when she hadn't shown anything but professionalism while in much more suggestive positions than this just minutes ago. "Where does it hurt?" Her blush deepened.

Sasuke's eyebrows hit his hairline in surprise and his lips parted. He stumbled over a few incoherent words, babbling like an idiot until Naruto brushed her lips gently against his once, then twice, and finally applied pressure, her lips soft, yet keeping the kiss firm.

Sasuke's eyes were open in shock, but he pushed her away after about half of a minute. He swallowed thickly and looked at her, her expression one of a person that had been rejected yet again.

"Let's practice." Sasuke dragged Naruto onto the bed between his legs, her hands resting on his bare chest. He threaded his fingers through the hair at the base of her neck when she tried to pull away, worried about hurting one of his injuries. "Start." She hesitated until he glared at her, but cleared her throat to begin a moment later.

"Aaron, no! You're hurt." Naruto tried to push him away, but he pulled her closer, his arm wrapping around her waist.

"Just this once. I need to do this, I need to figure out what I'm meant to do." He lowered his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, and pulled away to brush some hair behind her ear. Naruto's fingers spread out along his jaw line, and tears leaked down her cheeks. She slanted her lips against his again, drawing his bottom lip between her teeth. It was only a minute, but it felt so much longer. Sasuke felt tears prickle behind his closed eyelids, and he held her tightly to him, feeling as though if he let go then she'd disappear. Naruto's hands clenched into fists in his hair, and the tug on his scalp kept him grounded.

Naruto pulled away and looked him in the eye, her own watering over again in that exact moment. Sasuke brushed her tear away with his thumb, and he kissed her again, a gentle, loving kiss.

"I love you Aaron." Her voice was choked with tears and Sasuke couldn't tell if they were real or not. He threaded their fingers together and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you too." Her eyes glittered when he whispered his line, and he chuckle airily. "If only we'd had a camera."

"I know, right?" Naruto slid off of the bed and pulled her hair down, wiping the tears off of her face. "We'd have both looked a mess though."

"True."

"What are you kids doing in there?" Itachi knocked quietly on the door, and Naruto's face screwed up into an ugly scowl that Sasuke decided he really didn't like.

"Just finishing up." Itachi left with a sad sounding 'Okay' and Naruto slammed the lid of the box down. "I can't believe he beat you up when he was the one that took your stuff." Sasuke stared at the back of her blonde head, watching her wring the towel out in the water dish.

"It wasn't Itachi. I started it." Sasuke rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head, watching Naruto's feet freeze after he spoke.

"I-it was you? But, why?"

"I was angry, and let my temper get the best of me. I just took it out on Itachi, and he tried to let me get off without paying for it. I'm an idiot." Naruto lifted his head by a gentle finger under his chin, and he half expected her to hit him.

She pressed her lips against his forehead, then gathered her stuff and headed for the door. "Goodnight, Sasuke." She shut the door quietly behind her, and he listened to her receding footsteps until he couldn't hear them anymore. He hadn't gotten to thank her.

Sasuke ran his fingers over his forehead, the words she'd asked each time she'd found a new injury bringing a new meaning to him, and he wondered how often she'd been asked that simple question in her life; how many times she'd come home black and blue just because of how she looked or who her family was. He'd been one of the people to hurt her back then, and he knew that he hurt her now too every time he pushed her away.

"Where does it hurt?" His hand brushed over his heart, and he just new that there was an injury she'd missed, and that it was his fault she couldn't find it. He just wasn't sure if she'd be the one to be able to fix it.

. . . . .

End Chapter 10.

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1. Alright, well this seems a bit angsty, and I'm not overly pleased with this chapter, but it'll do. I do like the whole thing with Naruto, how she knows about injuries because of the harsh ways she was treated as a child. I hope you all like it better than I do. I don't really have much to say, so I won't rant a whole lot, so I guess that this is really all for now. If you actually like this chapter, let me know, because I'm really unsure about it. Thanks!

R & R, Love AMB11.


	11. The Norm

Apologies for taking so long! I hope you enjoy this bit of sidetracking. It's a continuation from the last filler chapter, so the little Akatsuki story will be a bit of a side story throughout the main SasuNaru story. I just love the Akatsuki.

**Disclaimer: **

Deidara: You don't know how hard it is to do something serious like this while watching Spongebob, yeah.

Sasori: It's not like being an idiot is hard, because if it was, you wouldn't constantly be doing it.

Deidara: That isn't what I meant, you jerk. I meant the disclaimer, yeah!

Sasori: AMB11 doesn't own Naruto. That wasn't hard, you numbskull.

Deidara: Pshht I know that. *Snickers* But I did get you to do it for me, yeah.

Sasori: I'm gonna kill him! *Deidara runs screaming*

Kakuzu: What they don't know is that it was actually my turn. Oh well, I still get paid.

* * *

Chapter 11: The Norm

"Is that the Uchiha?"

Itachi, pulled his backpack higher up on his shoulder subconsciously when the whispers around him grew louder. His fingers rested delicately at the bridge of his nose, the absence of his glasses reminding him once again why everyone was staring at him when he could usually get around unnoticed. He hung his head a bit lower, trying his hardest to get the hair that was pulled back from his face to fall back to it's usual place.

"Get your head up old man." Itachi sighed wearily when a heavy hand rested itself on his small shoulder. The short young man turned his mildly angry gaze on the giant beside him.

"They're staring." Itachi stopped at his locker on the left side of the hall, spinning through the combination impossibly quickly, and digging out his heavy history text book.

"Yeah? I guess they are." Itachi looked up questioningly at Kisame at the tone of the tall boy's voice. Did he not notice the awkward or frightened stares the two of them were getting?

"You... Didn't notice?"

"Of course not. People are always looking at me!" Kisame clapped Itachi on the back, the smaller male stumbling under the heavy onslaught, slamming his locker shut a lot louder than he'd intended. "If people are going to stare, why should I care about every person that does? I mean, I'm something to stare at after all. I'd be more worried if I didn't get strange looks."

"You would?" Itachi slung his bag back onto his shoulder and shoved his textbook into the large pocket, focusing his gaze once again on his large companion.

"Yeah. I've gotten so used to being watched, that if somebody wasn't looking, I'd have to give 'em a reason to look." The blue-haired teen winked jerkily and slammed the locker of some upperclassman as they walked past it. "Listen kid, you're an Akatsuki. Don't let people walk all over you, or else we'll all regret letting you in."

"I see." Itachi tightened the stylish ponytail at the base of his neck and raised his eyes up from the tile floor.

"Who slammed that locker?" Kisame and Itachi froze in their steps at the teacher's voice, and turned slowly to face the older students being confronted. The two young men looked from the teacher to Kisame, and flinched at the angry look the underclassman shot them in warning. "Well? Was it you, Haku, or was it your boyfriend here?"

"We broke up, and you know that Iruka." Zabuza crossed his arms angrily and shared an angry look with Haku. "Anyways, it wasn't us."

"Well," Iruka pinched the skin between his nose to calm the headache forming from the arrogance of the two seniors, "Who was it then? Someone's got to get a write up." Kisame took a step back, and Haku's eyes flickered over to the small movement. An eerily feminine smile lit up the teen's face, his dark eyes narrowing.

"They did it." Iruka turned to face the odd pair standing a few steps away. A vein in Kisame's neck bulged out at bit, his pointed teeth clenched together tightly; he was going to mangle the gay twerp for ratting him out later.

"Well, Hoshigake. This doesn't surprise me-"

"Mr. Umino. Let's not jump to conclusions, shall we." Itachi's eyes narrowed threateningly when he took a step forward, his fingers shoved into his back pockets. Kisame put a hand on the small teen's shoulder to hold him back, but receded when Itachi's bloody gaze turned to him momentarily in warning. The corners of his lips slipped up into the gentlest of smiles as he regarded the teacher. "That wouldn't be a very good idea." Itachi's smile fell to a grim slash.

"Iruka! You're going to let him threaten you?" Haku pulled Zabuza out of the way when Itachi approached the group in measured steps.

"We really must be going Mr. Umino. Thank you so much for understanding." Itachi shook the teacher's hand politely, the smile returning to his face when Iruka nodded slowly in agreement. Itachi released his hand and turned slowly, smirking triumphantly at the older students when he walked by, proud when they glared in response. Iruka rubbed his eyes furiously, swearing repeatedly in his head. He blinked to get rid of the itchiness in his eyes and to clear the tears from his vision.

The bell rang loudly in the hallway, and the students hurried to their lockers to get last minute things, kiss partners goodbye, or to avoid the two students walking down the middle of the hallway. Zabuza and Haku scurried off into the crowd in the opposite direction of the younger students they'd confronted.

The young teacher stumbled back into his empty classroom and sat at his desk, sniffling a bit. He dropped his forehead to the cool wood, glad that this period was his planning period and that he didn't have a class. Iruka wiped a tear that fell down his cheek with the back of his hand, his mouth folding to a grim frown.

"How'd he do it? I... I couldn't look away even though it hurt." The brunette groaned and rubbed at his neck, sitting back in his rolling chair. He glanced out the window of his room that looked out into the hallway and glared at the back of the monstrous teenager and his slight companion. "No one would believe me anyway."

"What the heck did you do, kid?" Kisame shouldered the classroom door open and laughed when the students already inside the room jumped in surprise.

"I'm persuasive." Itachi shrugged halfheartedly and dumped his bag onto his desk in the middle of the classroom, sliding into the seat gracefully. Kisame dumped the kid out of the seat next to Itachi's and pointed to his original seat in the back. The disheveled student gathered his belongings angrily and stormed to the back of the room in a fit of rage, taking the seat beside Konan in a huff.

"Kisame, where's Deidara?" Itachi raised his eyebrow in question.

"Everybody duck and cover, yeah!"

Kisame pushed Itachi out of his chair and did his best to cram himself under his desk, just managing the feat before a smoking object crashed through the window and onto Ebisu's desk, sparks flying everywhere. A few pages caught fire, the entire desk top catching flame within seconds, smoke rising in a black cloud to the white-tiled ceiling. Itachi peeked over the edge of his desk, eyes wide at the charred mess at the front of the classroom. The tiny red-head that was ducked down in the aisle behind him tapped him on the shoulder.

"Found him." The two of them smiled. Sasori held Itachi's intimidating gaze with his honey-colored stare while they waited for the sprinklers to come on and put out the fire. There was a second explosion at the front of the room, and several of the students rushed past the flailing firework to the door. Itachi put his hand on Sasori's back and nudged him in the direction the others had fled just as another spit of sparks flew from the front of the room. The Uchiha ducked down and covered his head when another firework shot through another of the large windows and whistled over his head.

"We're getting out of here kid!" Itachi felt himself getting lifted and vaguely registered that the red-head that had been inching towards the door was thrown over Kisame's other shoulder before the giant rushed toward the door, kicking the exploding object out of his way. Students were crowded into the hallway from all of the different classes as they evacuated the wing of the building.

"Why is no one panicking? Two fireworks just exploded in our classroom and everyone is just ambling along. Those girls are texting on their phones!" Itachi pulled the rubber band out of his hair and tied it back again.

"It's because Deidara blows stuff up all the time around here. They never prove it's him though, even if they know it is. No film or witnesses." Kisame shoved a few dawdling students into the lockers to clear the way, Itachi and Sasori trailing swiftly behind him.

"So this is a regular occurrence?" Itachi brushed a bit of the dust from the sleeve of his jacket and hurried down the front steps after his companion.

"At least once a month, but he does smaller stuff more often." Sasori jumped down each step individually and sprinted to keep up with his taller classmates. "We had a test after lunch, but now they have to let us out to investigate the explosions."

"But there were witnesses that it was a firework." Itachi loosened his tie and undid the top two buttons on his shirt. He slung his blazer over his shoulder and hurried to keep in step with Kisame, a ruckus off to the left of the courtyard drawing his attention. "What's going on over there?"

"Idiot's gone and got himself into another fight. Suppose we should go get him?" Sasori nodded at Kisame's question and sped after the enormous teen, Itachi following closely on their heels. A stream of swear words that even a sailor would have qualms about repeating floated from the center of the ring, and Itachi finally understood the situation a bit better.

"That's Hidan right? Does he fight often- Be careful!" Itachi tackled the brunette in front of him to the ground, a small firework buzzing directly over his head. He looked down at the fierce-looking girl that he'd knocked out of the way of the explosive until she heaved him off of her and jumped to her feet. "Are you alright?" Itachi stood and brushed himself off, ignoring the call of 'Sorry' from the blonde that was heading his way.

"Fine." The girl blushed under the large tattoos that covered her cheeks and hurried after her friend, glancing back at Itachi when he shrugged and ran after his fellow gang members.

"Who was that, Hana? Is he new?" Kurenai tucked a bit of her overly curly hair behind her ear and pressed her lips together when her normally tough friend blushed.

"He just transferred into my class from Japan. I thought he was kind of a geek when I first saw him, but he actually seems cooler than I thought." Hana adjusted her ponytail when Kurenai smacked her upside the head. "What?"

"He's with Fish Boy, Tiny Tim, and Pyro Boy over there trying to break up the idiot albino's fight." Kurenai frowned and pointed a red-nailed finger at her best friend. "Akatsuki, girl. Off limits." Kurenai looked at the group over her shoulder and blushed when she caught Itachi's eye. He waved a two fingered salute and smirked handsomely before dropping his stuff on Sasori and diving into the fight after Kisame. "But there is something about him I can see someone liking. Just wish he was taller."

"Don't we both, 'Nai."

. . . . . .

Itachi rammed his shoulder into Haku's stomach and rubbed it to get rid of the numb feeling when the senior fell to the ground. Hidan hit Zabuza with the handle of some sickle he'd stolen from the groundskeeper's shed and laughed when the older man dropped to the ground in pain.

"Hey! Hey! That's enough man." Kisame knocked the sickle from his friend's hand and dragged him backwards by his shoulders in a strong headlock. The enormous teen glanced at the crowd surrounding them and then at the two older boys cowering in front of them. "Now would be nice Blondie!"

Deidara set off a few bottle rockets outside of the ring of shouting students and smiled when they scattered. Kisame slung Hidan over his shoulder and rushed out of the circle, Itachi hurried after them and over toward Sasori and Deidara.

"Do you guys ever get in trouble for this kind of mess?" Itachi was gasping for breath when the group finally made out the front gate of the school where Kakuzu was waiting for them. He fixed his hair and shoved his jacket into his bag.

"Nah. The school's used to it by now. They kinda turn a blind eye, yeah. Besides, Hidan's dad is the mayor and Kakuzu's pop is a big-time lawyer." Deidara explained while looking through his bag, occasionally dropping a few poppers on the concrete sidewalk to startle passersby. "The students think that we're funny, and the one time a parent actually tried to sue, turns out that the fight was three feet off campus and they lost so badly that they moved out of Konoha. We usually just get detention, or at worst, suspension if we get caught, yeah."

"Most of the students are either too embarrassed by the outcome of the fight or are too afraid of us to rat us out, so we don't get caught often. It's not a great deal seeing as we still get busted big time, but if no one says anything, we can slip out of getting in trouble. You've already saved my butt twice in the past two days just by negotiating a teacher out of writing me up." Kisame elbowed Itachi and grinned mischievously. "This is just the norm for us."

Hidan rubbed at a few off the cuts on his hands from where he'd grabbed the sickle, Kakuzu offering to stitch them up for an outrageous price. Kisame refused to put Sasori down, and the red-head seemed to have fallen asleep slung over the blue-haired teen's shoulder. Deidara set off a sparkler and threw it into the street just as a young man drove by and flipped him off. Itachi glanced between all of his companions and jumped when Zetsu jumped over the school wall and ran down the street towards the red-eyed young man's house as fast as he could, the gardener rushing through the school gate and towards the ambling group of teenagers. They all took off, turning right at the end of the street, automatically going to Itachi's home, and he wondered when his home became the spot they all instinctively ran for when they were being chased.

"Get used to it, kid. This is the norm for us Akatsuki."

Deidara dropped a firework behind them that filled the entire street with smoke and set the grass on the side of the road on fire. Itachi glanced warily at the group that he was running with, and smiled when Kakuzu tripped Hidan, claiming him to be a sacrifice.

He could get used to this.

. . . . . .

End Chapter 11

* * *

1. I hope you all found this entertaining, despite how short it is. Expect to get back to the plot after this, but there will be more Akatsuki in the future!

2. I'm not gonna rant long seeing as this is a short chapter, I shouldn't fill it up with yet more useless crap. Thanks for reading!

R & R, Love AMB11.


	12. Old Friends Butting In

Hope some of you are still here with me! It's been a long time since I updated this story, like several weeks. Please don't kill me! I'm a busy gal, so of course I have other things to do... Notice I didn't say better though... Anyways, I'm glad that I can finally get this up. I've had it finished for several days now, and I was scrolling through my masses of unpublished documents when I found it, just sitting there like "trololololooooooll" and I just thought to myself "Oh crap!" I read through it and spent the last while doing some much needed revisions, but here it is! Hope you like it.

**PLEASE READ THE NOTE BELOW!**

**Note: **I work at a school with little children, if you've read my profile you'd know that I have a part-time job, and I'd like to ask you all to do something at my request. A little boy today, a baby no older than one, fell down and cut the entire front of his face on the corner of a metal bookshelf. The doctors had to glue his nose back together, he's got five stitches in his forehead, and his entire upper lip was split into two. It was stitched up, and he'll need to have corrective surgery to fix it soon so he won't have problems in the future. Please lift this child and his family in prayer. With concern, AMB11.

**Disclaimer: **

Naruto: It's been a while since we've had to do this.

Sasuke: Sure has been.

Naruto: ...

Sasuke: ...

Naruto: No-

Sasuke: -t i-

Naruto: -t! Hah! I finished first!

Sasuke: Gaaaaah! *pulls at hair and glares at camera* AMB11 doesn't own Naruto.

Naruto: Heheh, sucker.

Sasuke: Don't push it!

* * *

Chapter 12: Old Friends Butting In

"Sa-su-ke! You need to wake up sleepy head. It's time to get ready to go to the doctor." Naruto pinched Sasuke's cheek and smacked it lightly when he groaned in his sleep and swatted her hand away. "Come on, I can't be late for school again Sasuke, and I still need to get ready too. Wake up!" She blew a strand of blonde hair from her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a slow breath before peeking through slit eyes at the young man that was wasting her time.

She leaned over him, her left knee dipping into the mattress next to him and her hands on either side of his head. "Worth a shot." Naruto's tongue swept along the smooth column of his neck, and she flinched when the young man under her tensed. "Well at least you're awake-" A large hand wrapped around the base of her neck, loosely burying itself in her long blonde hair. Sasuke groaned from deep in his throat, and Naruto's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider had she tried. "What?"

Her white teeth glinted in a bright grin as she leaned in again and dragged her tongue back over the already moist skin, slower this time. His fingers flexed, the short nails digging into her scalp. She closed her teeth around his tendon and bit down, her hands on his bare chest. Sasuke's breathing sped up just a little bit when she sucked on the bite, not quite hard enough to leave a mark out of fear for when he'd kill her for it later, and slid one hand down his chest to his stomach until she finally curled her fingers around his hip.

His red plaid boxers bunched up around her hands a bit as she dragged her fingers hesitantly closer to the apex of his legs. Her own breath caught in her lungs when she finally reached the growing bulge with her index and middle finger, her teeth sinking into his shoulder at the same time.

Naruto's back hit the mattress hard enough to knock the air from her lungs, red tinging her tan face the same color as Sasuke's boxers when she saw a look in his sleep-fogged eyes that she could only call animalistic. His intense stare glazed over, and the grip he had on her shoulders tightened painfully while he panted heavily. A flash of pain flickered in his eyes, and it vaguely registered in the back of her mind that he'd most likely put weight on his injured leg, but the blonde suddenly couldn't care about anything aside from the feel of his erection pressing against her stomach and his breath on her lips, his face just inches from hers.

"Morning... Sasuke..." An awkward laugh fell from her lips, and Sasuke froze momentarily before suddenly rolling off of her and scooting as far away as he could without falling off of the bed.

"Get out, Naruto." He ran a hand through the thick black hair that was hanging in his face and closed his eyes, taking steady breaths in through his nose.

"Alright, alright. I get it, but just so you know, this was your fault. You can't blame this one on me, you wouldn't wake up." Naruto stood and stretched, the too-large t-shirt raising up just enough to show a peek of her skimpy orange underwear that had Sasuke pinching his nose and willing back a nosebleed. "Itachi's driving you to that clinic downtown on his way to class today, so I'd hurry and get dressed."

"It's only six-thirty. Why'd you get me up a full hour before I'd have to leave?" He prided himself when his voice came out normal despite the difficulty he was having breathing because of the feminine scent that covered his entire bed.

"I figured you'd need the extra time to get around since you can't walk on that foot, and I have to be gone in thirty minutes. I wanted to tell you something before I left. About what you told me last night." Sasuke crossed his arms behind his head and fell backwards to his pillow, looking her in the eye to show she had his attention. "You're an idiot."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"I said, 'You're an idiot.' I can't believe you'd get so upset over something that stupid." Naruto crossed her arms across her chest, and Sasuke had to force himself to keep his eyes on her face.

"I can't believe you of all people would think what I did was stupid." His eyes narrowed into a glare, the young lady in front of him mimicking the expression shortly after.

"Hey, Sasuke, do you have a white shirt I can... Am I interrupting something?" Itachi froze in the doorway, his hand still closed around the brass door handle. Sasuke dragged his comforter over the shrinking problem in his lap before his brother could see it, but otherwise kept glaring at the half-dressed woman in front of him.

"I was just explaining to your brother how ridiculous it is that he'd get so upset over you trying to take his film part from him that he'd beat you up," Naruto said as she brushed past the Uchiha in the doorway, slamming the door shut behind her hard enough to rattle the large windows on the adjacent wall.

Itachi cringed before glancing up at his younger brother, who was trying his hardest to stand and failing miserably. "Come here Itachi."

"No."

"Come. Here." Itachi shook his head, feeling very much like a twelve year old. "Now, Itachi." The older man took a few tentative steps forward until he was standing in front of his brother, who was on his feet with the help of the bedside table acting as a rail. "What is she talking about, brother dearest?"

The red-eyed man sighed tiredly, his age hitting him again, and helped Sasuke stand up a bit straighter. "When she found out that I hadn't been honest to her about starting our fight, she came and kicked me so hard in the crotch that I fear you may be the sole hope for carrying on the Uchiha name in the future, then she broke the mirror in the hallway outside of Dad's room with my belt and threatened to beat you senseless with it because she thought you forced me into lying for you. I was trying to save both my child bearing abilities and your face, because without either of them, there'd be no more Uchiha's."

"Seems logical."

"Right?" Itachi helped Sasuke get his shirt off over his head, careful of all of the work Naruto had done last night. "I told her that when you saw the two of us practicing together, you got the impression that I was taking your role in the film."

"Well that's stupid. No wonder she called me an idiot. Is that the best you could come up with?" Sasuke hopped on his good leg while he pulled a loose-fitting pair of jeans on and held them up while his brother looked for a belt.

"You're going to complain to the one who's driving you to see the doctor? I could make you walk." Itachi bent over to dig Sasuke's shoes out from under the bed and threw them at his brother when he replied with a snide 'Yes'. "Well, anyways, I'm going to borrow the shirt I was looking for and then finish getting ready. Be by the front door in a half hour, and be sure to thank Naruto before she leaves."

"What?" Sasuke froze, his face caught in an unpleasant grimace and his bad leg resting on the bed as he tied the laces on his purple and black checkered Vans. "Why?"

"I'm only your ride there. She called in an old friend to pick you up after your appointment is over since we'll both be in class, and I don't trust any of my friends to pick you up and not injure you further. Just be grateful that for once someone that you pissed off is still being nice to you." Itachi took a white button up shirt from one of Sasuke's drawers and hurried out of the room to go get dressed for the day.

Sasuke groaned and flopped backward onto his bed, immediately regretting it when her smell surrounded him. He brushed the spot on his neck that was still tingling from the touch of her lips and tried his hardest to ignore the intense desire he felt to go and have her finish what she started. He clenched his eyes shut and tried to will the feeling away, but the image of her flushed face and parted pink lips was practically taped to the inside of his eyelids.

He sat up and slid his legs over the edge of the bed gently, once again using the bedside table to stand, and then hobbled over to the door much more slowly than he would have liked. The door swung inward just as he reached for the handle, and he felt lucky that it hadn't hit him, based on the new dent in his wall where the knob had hit the plaster.

"Oh! Sorry Sasuke, didn't mean to hit you with that. Anyway, I've asked my friend Sai to pick you up after you're done at the doctor's, so just text me when he does and I'll be sure to meet you at the gate." Naruto forcibly shoved a small white card into one of the front pocket of his jeans and let her finger linger inside of it for just a moment while she thought something over.

_'Can you move that finger over just a few inches? Like you did earlier. I just wish I'd been awake for-' _

Naruto's voice brought him from his less-than-innocent thoughts, and he suddenly remembered Itachi's advice. He bit his tongue and waited for her to finish whatever it was she'd been saying, and then mumbled a quiet, "Um, Naruto... Thanks."

A small grin lit up her face as she punched him lightly on the arm. "No problem Sasuke."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I hate this place." Sasuke glared over his shoulder through the sliding doors at his waving brother just as the expensive sports car took off at a speed that was definitely above the 30mph limit. The spiky-haired young man shoved his way past yet another swarm of female patients, going so far as to even smack one away with the cane his father had lent him. He slumped down into his seat and undid the top two buttons on his black button up, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows. "Why's it so dang hot in here?" He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and dropped his backpack in the empty seat beside him to keep one of the creepy girls from sitting in it.

His pants were hanging a bit lower on his hips than he'd have liked, but it was acceptable considering Itachi had been unable to find a belt that fit his waist that wasn't from Naruto's closet. His shirt was a simple one he'd stolen from Itachi a while back, the grey beanie that was covering the hair he hadn't had time to fix also being an item acquired via his older sibling. The shoes, at least, were his. He picked at the white bandage Naruto had put on the cut on his cheek and then pulled at a bit of the gauze wrapped around his sore shoulder that was peeking out from underneath his collar; he realized, with a grimace, that he probably looked more like a gang member than his brother did, and Itachi actually was one.

The gold watch on his wrist ticked quietly in the awkward atmosphere of the clinic waiting room, and Sasuke felt a twitch start in his left eyebrow as he tried to ignore all of the stares he was getting. _'Itachi was more right than he knows.' _The receptionist called his name, and he saw a few girls in the corner of the small room swoon as he got to his feet and walked slowly over to the desk to collect his paperwork. He slid into the seat next to the counter and immediately starting filling things out in a handwriting that looked too neat and refined for his current appearance, doodling a bit on the paper once he'd finished all of the mandatory information. He handed it back to the secretary.

"Uchiha, Sasuke?" The dark-haired young man got to his feet, refusing the three different offers for assistance he got despite the overwhelming pain that had started creeping up his leg from his ankle. He managed to make it back to the examination room and up onto the table by himself, but was fighting back a scream at the agony in his swollen ankle. He swore when he realized he'd left his bag in the waiting room.

"Alright, what seems to be the problem Mr. Uchi...ha..." Sasuke bit his lip when the female doctor entered the room and froze when she saw him. "That isn't little Sasuke is it?" His palm hit his face with a loud slap, and he slowly dragged his fingers downward with a sigh and a nod. "Well what the heck happened to you kid?"

"Got in a fight," Sasuke said as he scooted back a bit on the bed until his feet were on the step in front of it instead of on the ground. "I'm just here for my leg though, the rest of me is fine Tsunade." He watched the blonde woman as she moved about the room, her white coat brushing against the back of her thighs and her long blonde hair swinging across her back in two long ponytails.

"You sure you don't want me to take a look at it?" He just shook his head.

"Someone I trust already did it." Tsunade shrugged and ran through the normal procedures before helping the young man back to x-rays.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Sai, you're attracting a crowd. You should go before you get me in trouble with somebody."

"That would be hilarious." Sai scrolled down on his cell phone screen and adjusted his sunglasses with his other hand. "I'd really love to see that."

"Oh shut up, you jerkwad." Naruto slapped the tall man's arm when he tugged on the end of her long braid in retalitation. "Shouldn't you have to go and pick up Sasuke soon?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your panties in a twist Blondie, I'm going. But first, this Sasuke guy; he good boyfriend material?" His dark eyes didn't even leave his cell phone screen.

"The absolute best, but you better stay away from this one. I actually want to keep him." Naruto hugged the man, who reluctantly put his arms around the short girl for a second before shoving her off of him and backing away a good foot. He turned and waved over his shoulder to her, cringing when she blew him a kiss. His car keys jingled quietly as he swung them around his finger. He made his way back through the main gate of the high school, across the street to the vacant lot he'd left his car in and finally put his phone down once he'd gotten into the vehicle.

He checked his mirrors and adjusted the grey fedora on his head, then slowly backed out of the space he'd parked in, an incredibly slight smirk tilting his lips upward. "Not sure I can do that, you know how it makes me feel when I see you with a handsome man, Naruto."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_"Alright, so it's not a major fracture? That's good then."_

"Yeah, the doctor says I'll have to be in a special brace and crutches for two weeks and then I can just get a splint to use afterward." Sasuke moved the phone to his other ear and covered the mic so he could hear what Iruka was saying on the other line.

_"So what exactly were you doing when you got injured?"_ The brunette heard the young man let out a deep breath, and Iruka could just feel the teenager's irritation seeping through the phone.

"Being an idiot. Are you going to find someone to replace me?"

_"Of course not, it isn't a permanent injury, and I figure we can just film all of the scenes that don't involve you or use just your stuntman until you're able to come back. No problem!"_ Iruka bit his lip and tightened his fist around the letter promising a budget increase with Fugaku's signature across the bottom. _"Take your time and come back when you're better. Keep in touch!"_

The call ended with a click before Sasuke could even blink, and he slowly pulled the beeping phone away from his ear. He pressed the flashing red button on the touch screen and dropped it in his lap.

"Are we done yet? I still need to attend afternoon classes."

"Would you quit whining? I'm just adjusting a few things so it'll fit over the padding we used." Tsunade tightened the laces that ran up the front of the black boot, bits of white peeking out through the corset-like device. "At least you get to use one of the new models this place just got. It kind of looks like a really weird shoe."

"It's interesting." Sasuke swung his leg at the knee and put a little weight on his ankle, but immediately let up when a shock of pain registered through the numbness of the anesthetics. "Still hurts though."

Tsunade got to her feet and flicked the young man in the forehead before popping her knuckles. "Of course it does, all of this just holds the bone in place so it can heal. It isn't a walking boot. If you try to stand on it too soon, you'll end up hurting it worse than you originally did." She helped Sasuke stand and fitted him to a pair of crutches. "Just be glad that we didn't have to put you in a real cast." Tsunade helped the young man get to his feet, then adjusted the set of crutches one of the nurses had brought for her so they would fit him.

Sasuke followed the doctor down the short hall and back to the room he'd initially come from, trying to keep up with her brisk pace. "Is this thing waterproof or will I need to fix it again every time I take a shower?" He swore silently to himself when he had to take a few deep breaths to get rid of the tight feeling in his chest; he was already tired after just going a few yards.

"The lady at the front desk will give you a list of instructions. Now just go and quit being an idiot or I'll come and hurt you myself next time Uchiha." Tsunade pushed him just a bit too forcefully through the doorway and into the waiting room. Sasuke righted himself and looked around the room, almost afraid to see what had happened while he was gone; his bag appeared to be untouched.

"Mr. Uchiha, if you'd come to the desk for a moment, I'd give you a note for your classes and some care information. I also need you to make a return appointment."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Where is this place? I've gone around the block three times alre-Oh, there it is." The vehicle slowed to a halt at the four way stop. Sai waited until the three other cars that had gotten there before him went, then waited a few minutes more until the car behind him honked loudly once, then twice. His thin lips turned upward in a smile as he waved his hand out the window at the person behind him, then he finally went across the intersection and pulled off the road into the casual-looking clinic's parking lot.

He parked in the closest parking space he could find that wasn't a handicapped spot and turned the key in the ignition, the engine of his Corvette dying down to an echoing thrum in his ears. The car door opened with a quiet hiss, and his topsiders hit the gravel of the parking lot with a crunch.

"How am I even going to find this person? I don't know what he looks like. Oh well." Sai pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his skinny jeans and slammed the door shut behind him with his empty hand.

_"What does Sasuke look like? You forgot to tell me, Blondie?"_ He tapped send on the screen then pressed the lock button on his car key. The reply buzzed back no more than thirty seconds later, and Sai opened it practically before it had finished loading.

_"You'll know him when you see him. He's a hard character to miss, trust me." _A small sigh escaped the dark-haired man's lips. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair, tucked his phone back into his pocket, and made his way slowly across the parking lot to the sliding doors of the clinic.

The smell of sanitation products hit him when the doors first opened, and a subtle wave of repulsion boiled under his skin. His shaped eyebrows knitted together slightly, but he remained otherwise unfazed as he made his way into the building, following the different signs that were placed at random turns throughout the building. It was quiet when he finally found the area he'd been looking for in the confined, but surprisingly confusing, layout of the clinic.

The glass door squeaked on its' hinges when he pushed it inward, and the sound of heavy breathing was the only distinguishable noise in the room. He noticed a group of girls hovering around the entrance to the men's restroom, and decided that he really didn't care to know what they were doing. The receptionist waved him over.

"I'm looking for Sasuke Uchiha. Is he done yet or what?" His deep voice seemed a bit too loud in the small room, and the normally flat tone he usually spoke with sounded even more robotic in his ears.

"He's in the restroom at the moment. Please take a seat and you may leave once I speak to him." Sai rolled his eyes at her slightly too perky attitude and turned on his heels, the soles of his shoes squeaking loudly on the tile floor.

"Naruto owes me big for this. Picking up a stranger, I mean honestly, I don't even know the guy and-" His dark eyes peered over the edge of his cell phone screen just as the door to the men's room opened and the small flock of women edged away from the door.

"Here. Thanks." The youngest looking girl, who seemed to be about the same age as the beautiful man that had just stepped into the room, took the can of hairspray from him when he handed it to her.

Sai rubbed a pale hand over his equally pale face and then pulled at a loose thread on his purple plaid shirt. The mysterious young man made his way over to the desk, and Sai watched with interest as he approached him at a slow pace, courtesy of the crutches tucked under each arm, after a few minutes. "Can you pass me that?" A shiver ran down Sai's spine at the grit of this strangers voice, but he handed the young man the bag in the seat next to him anyway and returned his eyes to his phone. "That's pretty cool, did you draw that?"

"Yeah." Sai closed the paint app on his phone after saving the digital ink drawing he'd been working on, then leaned back in his seat a bit, his eyes staring dully at the uniformed man beside him. "Are you Uchiha?" Sasuke glanced at the individual in the seat next to his and then went back to fixing his school tie after a quick nod. "I'm your ride. Let's go." He got to his feet.

"So you're Naruto's friend. What was your name again?" He shoved the clothing he'd initially been wearing into his backpack and slung it over both shoulders.

"Sai." Sasuke grunted and swung himself onto his feet, letting the slightly shorter young man lead the way out. "Pleasure to meet you." Sai's voice made Sasuke want to cringe from the lack of personality; it was kind of depressing. The pair finally made it out of the clinic after only one wrong turn, and Sasuke groaned from the midday heat, the sun overhead already making him feel overheated. They walked the short distance to Sai's car, and Sasuke circled around it to the passenger seat.

"Thanks for the ride." The engine purred to life, and Sai backed out of the space without warning; Sasuke hurriedly put his seat belt on.

"No problem," Came the dull reply. The car ride was quiet until they reached the stop light just around the corner from Sasuke's school. He noticed one distinctly blonde head peeking around the gate of the school, and remembered he was supposed to text Naruto when he was on his way.

The paper was crumpled from being in his pocket all morning, but the numbers were still legible enough to make out. Sasuke entered the digits into his phone, saved it, then sent of a quick, "_Sasuke. On my way." _He turned his phone off and tucked it into his pocket, the leather of his seat creaking when he finally settled back in the chair. Cars raced through the intersection in front of him, and after a few moments, he suddenly felt a bit unnerved.

Sai blinked, but didn't take his eyes off of his passenger. "Do you like Naruto?" Sasuke flinched.

"If you're asking whether I like or dislike her, I'd say I like her. But-"

"Do you want to go out with her, then?" The air was thick with tension, and Sasuke could just feel the accusation stabbing into him like a knife.

"What if I was thinking about it?"

"Well then, that would be a problem, wouldn't it?" Sasuke decided he really didn't like Sai's tone, even if there wasn't much of one.

"I don't know, would it?" He asked through clenched teeth.

The light turned green, but the car didn't move until Sai finally tore his gaze from Sasuke's angry glare. "It seems I have a rival."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

End Chapter 12!

* * *

1. Sorry for this taking so long! Sai was fun, so much fun. I loved writing him into this. It'll be explained later, but just as a sneak peek: Sai is one of Naruto's old friends that lived in her neighborhood when they were kids. He would always help her out when she'd get into trouble, and then tease her about it afterward. It's a very love-hate relationship, but they're still close now, even though Sai is a few years older than she is (Itachi's age).

2. Well, things have gotten interesting... Sasuke wants Naruto to pursue him and just maybe he wants to be with her too? Sai feels he has a love rival? Boy will you all be surprised. ;)

3. I feel like this chapter was a bit slow, but it had a few funny parts that kept it moving. Let me know what you think!

4. If you read my message at the beginning, please keep that family in your hearts and minds and lift them up to Jesus. They need Him now. Amen.

R & R if you want the next chapter, Love AMB11!


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